WITCH : Dead Memories
by Sniper Fodder
Summary: What? A senator assassinated? And Will behind it? Why? How come? With strangers in black merceedes and missing time, something is up. Can the Guardians stop it before anyone else is hurt?
1. Missing Time

**A/N: Okay, this story randomly came to me. I have no clue how or why because it was back in the day. I just wrote it down to keep it. Now I am actually going to try and run with it. Not sure how this will turn out, so Please review it. Hopefully I will keep up with this story too.**

W.I.T.C.H.: Project Dead Memories

"Missing Time"

"Alright already! I'm coming!" Will Vandom said to herself as she headed her way over to the phone on the wall. "I hate phones." Will said muttering to herself. Passing a Hallway mirror, Will looked in it to see a cheeky 14 year old with red hair cut shoulder length and big brown eyes. Dressed in blue jeans, a Pink halter-top and white sneakers. She passed by the mirror and picked up the phone.

"This is the Vandom Residence, how may I help you? Will Vandom speaking." Will said wondering who would be calling at this hour. _Probably Taranee or one of the other guardians._

"Blue Demons" the voice on the other end of the line said. There was a clattering as the phone hit the floor. Will walked slowly out of the living room where she had picked up the phone and grabbed her coat leaving the apartment. There was a car waiting outside. She opened the door to the rear passenger seat on the driver's side and stepped in. The car drove off and turned the corner, doors locking shut.

"You have a new target. Jonathan Petersburg. You will find all the gear necessary at the drop point. Here is a picture so you can identify him." A man in the front said, handing her a picture without turning around. The front slightly glowed red as the man lit up a cigarette. She couldn't tell much detail from the position she was sitting and the darkness that persisted throughout the car. The same with the driver, hard to tell detail, only that they were both men. "We will pick you up in two hours. Dismissed."

The Car pulled up to a curb and the door unlocked. Stepping out of the car she took 5 steps to a bush with pretty white flowers on it. The sun was just setting giving the sky an orange tinged look._ How pretty_ she thought before focusing back on the bush. Rummaging around in the bush she found a black duffel bag. Putting it on her shoulder she walked a few blocks and ended up at the park with public restrooms. Stepping into the women's room she set the duffel bag down and unzipped it. Inside she found a black pair of clothes and a big case. Quickly stripping down, Will put on the black clothes. Taking a black cap, she tucked her distinctive red hair up under it. Will then took the clothes and put them in the duffel bag and returned the case. She exited the restroom with the black case on her shoulder and duffel bag in hand. Moving like a cat, she stalked off back towards her drop off point. Finding the right street corner, Will stood in the shadows waiting. Soon a car pulled up to a house a block away. A man wearing a gray trench coat got out. Looking at her picture Will found that this man was Jonathan Petersburg.

Walking into the nearby alleyway Will began searching for a spot near the house. Finally, she found a telephone poll that was near the house and set far enough back. Setting the duffel bag down, she opened it up. Then she began pulling pieces out of the bottom and started to assemble a long ominous object, a rifle. She pulled out a scope from a black case and snapped it on. Then from the bag she grabbed some gear meant for climbing telephone poles and put it on. Taking the rifle by its strap, she shouldered it and put an extra clip in the pocket of her black pants. She then began to climb the telephone pole. Reaching a height she felt suitable for her work and hooked her gear onto the telephone pole to support her as she leaned back.

Unsholdering the rifle, Will balanced it on one of the rungs. She then looked through the scope into a living room. Quickly using the scope to search it, she found nothing. Will then shifted her gaze and the direction of the rifle to another room. There he was, seated on the bed in the bedroom. He then got up and moved away from the window. She shifted to another window and saw his head disappear below it as he headed down a flight of stairs. She shifted the rifle downwards and watched as he moved into the dinning room of the house. Then, Jonathan Petersburg sat down with his wife and two kids at a table set up with plates and what looked like a turkey. It was obviously time for dinner. But this dinner was going to be cut short. Adjusting the site on her scope she took careful aim. Will controlled her breathing, taking deep steady breaths. _Breathe in, hold it, breathe out. Breathe in, hold it, breathe out._ The instructions rang out clearly in her mind. Staring through the scope her target was outlined by the light. It was getting dark already; the stars trying to peek out from the blanket of light that blotted them out during the day.

Then her finger moved to the trigger, and only for a fleeting moment she hesitated as she saw the bubbly looks on the kids faces, but then a Steele voice cut through her head. _Never hesitate. _She pulled the trigger as she stopped in between breathing in and out. There was an earth shattering roar as a gout of flame leapt from the barrel of the rifle. She didn't even stop to think as she reloaded another round into the chamber of the rifle. Again the roar called out leaving a deafening silence. Will didn't even wait for what was to surely come next. Quickly she shouldered the rifle and unhooked her self from the telephone pole. She quickly shimmied down and heard a god awful pitiful scream from within the Petersburg residence as she hit the ground.. Ignoring the scream she quickly broke down the rifle into its many components. Placing everything back in the bag she stood up to look around. Everything was set when she remembered, _The extra clip._ Pulling it from her pocket she dropped it in and zipped the duffel bag back up.

Grabbing the duffel bag, Will walked out of the alley and began walking away from the house. She could here sirens in the distance rushing to the mess she had created. A cop car even passed by her, but she walked on as if nothing happened.

20 minutes later and a few blocks from the park Will watched as the car pulled up. _A black Mercedes. _She thought opening the trunk and dumping the duffel bag in. Pulling out a mirror Will quickly checked her visage to ensure that everything was alright. She was back in her clothes and her hair was free of the black cap. Putting the mirror back she got back into the car and closed the door with a heavy thud.

"The target?" The man in the front seat asked.

"Neutralized" Will said in a cold emotionless voice.

"Good. Time to go back home." At these words, the car pulled away from the curb and began the drive back to her house. When they got there the man talked to her once more. "Remember, when you get back inside, answer the phone."

"I will remember," Will said as she stepped out and walked up the walkway. Before entering her house, she looked up at the sky, and the stars as they did there waltz among the heavens. Then she unlocked the door and entered. Walking over to the kitchen she found the phone still on the floor, hanging on it's cord. Picking up the phone, she hung it back on the ringer. Almost immediately the phone rang. Picking it up again she heard a series of clicking noises as if someone had hung up.

"Huh?" Will said out loud. _Weird, no one on the other line._ Hanging up the phone Will walked back to her room to continue her math and looked at the clock to find that instead of it being 7:15, it was 9:31.

"What the?" Will said confused as to how the clock had jumped from 7 to 9 so quickly. Shaking her head she thought, "Did I black out or something?" She checked to make sure it was plugged in and working.

"Wait, I can talk to clocks, duh! Why don't I just as it what happened?" Will said looking annoyed at herself. "Clock, was there a power surge or something? Is it really 9:31?"

"_Yes, it is nine thirty and no, there was no power surge. It is the correct time." _Will's clock said to her. Strange, where had all her time gone? 2 hours, just missing in an instant..

"I really need to go to a doctor. This is to wired." Will said shrugging and returning to her math. "I wish algebra disappeared as easily as my time did." Sighing, Will sat down, picked up her stress bitten pencil, and looked at the next problem.

 

Sitting in a car a few blocks away the man hung up the cell phone he had just used to dial the Vandom residence. He exhaled a cloud of smoke from the cigarette he was smoking.

"I am thinking that we will have to eliminate her soon." He said gesturing back towards where they had come. "We are loosing our grip on her. I can feel it."

"Are you positive sir?" Said the driver of the car.

"Yes, very. Arrange for one of the other subjects to eliminate her next Tuesday." He said stubbing his cigarette out. He then opened the door and stepped out. "Another thing, this conversation never took place." Nodding in compliance, the driver drove off while the man walked back home.

**A/N: Okay! So Will is up to something, possibly against her own will, and there is a guy **


	2. Planning Murder

**A/N: Okay! Wawsome! Thanks for all the reviews! This has encouraged me to continue writing the story. Oh, forgot this in the last one, But I do not own WITCH or Any of it's characters. I do how ever own any OC's in this including the mysterious men, assassins, and any others I can think of. Any ideas portrayed here are my own or I have the consent of the original author and are only coincidental if they resemble another set of ideas. Alrighty then, I will stop writing here and let you people get down to reading! Review please.**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Planning Murder"

The season was changing, Will could tell as she rode her bicycle to school. The trees had started to change from their unmistakable green to the beautiful yellows and reds of fall. She remembered childhood years when she would go out and jump in the giant pile of leaves her mom had raked up. She loved to roll around in them and always ran away as her Mom scolded her for scattering the fallen leaves. Taking a deep breath and sighing Will looked upon the gates of Sheffield Institute. Sheffield was marginally okay, only because of her friends and fellow guardians attended it also.

Thinking back she remembered when she first met Taranee, her best friend since coming to Heatherfield. Taranee was dressed in an orange shirt with blue jeans. Liquid brown eyes peered through glasses that rested on the end of her nose. She had many colorful beads strung through out a head full of braids.

They had first met at Sheffield and had hit it off right away. Their bond had only become stronger as they soon found out that they were fellow Guardians meant to protect a magical barrier called the Veil.

Will, as the leader of the Guardians, also made friends with Hay Lin, Cornelia, and Irma. The five of them together formed the team that protected against all that was evil. Hay Lin controlled air and was the only guardian who could fly, despite the fact that they all had wings. Cornelia had power over earth and the life that grew from it. She was also friends with Elyon Brown, the true heir to the throne, the Light of Meridian. It had been a terrible blow to Cornelia when she had learned that her best friend had been tricked into joining the ranks of Phobos. Irma was the wisecrack of the group. Not only could she control water, she could make a bad situation not so bad with a joke of hers. Taranee herself could control probably the most powerful element of them all, Fire. She had demonstrated how dangerous fire could be when Elyon and Prince Phobos had imprisoned her in Meridian. She had shown that fire can be dangerous if you play with it. Lastly, Will was the Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar. Will controlled energy and could talk to all the electrical appliances she ran across. As the leader of the team, she faced leading the rest of the girls in the battle to defeat Phobos and restore the throne to Elyon.

Will slowed her bike down and brought her thoughts to the present as the school loomed ahead. She brought her bicycle to a stop and walked it to the bike rack locking it up. She scanned the school yard for the rest of the Guardians as she entered through the foreboding front gates. Spotting the group together under a cottonwood she waved and walked over to them.

"Hey Will! How is it going?" Asked Taranee as will hugged her.

"I am doing fine. How about yourself?" Will said yawning. She had gotten her homework done despite the lost time, but it had cost her sleeping time.

"Were all doing fine. We were just discussing the Senators murder." Said Hay Lin in her usual fashion style. She had goggles on her head with a flavorful skirt and multicolored stockings.

"Yea, I heard it on the news while I was eating breakfast." Will said looking around the faces that saw her as their leader.

"They say that it was some hit man that did it. A professional job, though I don't know why someone would have him knocked off." Said Cornelia with a nod of her head.

"Oh you know Corny. He was supporting the bill that guaranteed that blonds would be helped with all of their faults." Quipped Irma using Cornelia's long hated nickname.

"I am not Corny! Stop calling me that Irma. And just because your not popular because you don't have the looks doesn't mean you have to put other people down." Cornelia snapped back.

"Oh ho! Look who's talking now!" Irma said with a sly grin on her face.

"Stop it you two!" Will said flabbergasted. Cornelia and Irma were always at each others throats. The bickering two didn't have time for a retort because the 5 minute warning bell had just rung telling students that class would start soon. "Well, see you guys at lunch time."

They all nodded their heads in agreement as they took off into the double doors that most students would label as the end to their freedom. And there standing there to help the few stragglers get in was Ms. Knickerbocker, the school principal.

"Come along boys and girls! School is such a wonderful place and I know that all of you are eager to learn. Come along now, hurry up! Don't be late for class!" her voice said echoing over the emptying school yard.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

The day went on as usual. The guardians all met at lunch and continued to discuss the assassination of the senator. It had been all the buzz in their history classes. In fact, their teachers decided that now was a good time to review the assassinations of Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and other prominent people. Will was pretty sick of the whole business and had an uneasy feeling about her as if she had committed the actual murder.

"So, anyway, as I was saying, that is just to weird about the connections between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations for it to be pure coincidence," Said Irma sitting down by the tree with her sack lunch. Everyone else sat with her and began to dig into each of their home packed lunches, courtesy of loving parents.

"Enough of this assassination crap. I am sick of it for now. Anyways, we have to plan our next move against Phobos." Will said shaking her head.

"We haven't heard anything from Caleb lately, so everything must be going good with the rebels." Cornelia said next flowing into the subject change as if they had been talking about Meridian and the fate of its people and true ruler seconds before. The rest of the girls were a little estranged by Will's outburst, but didn't say anything.

"I think tomorrow we should go back and see how everything is there." Hay Lin said to the group while biting into her PB & J sandwich.

"Yea, what is tomorrow anyway, Tuesday?" Said Taranee.

"Yep, All day tomorrow," Said Irma with a grin on her face. "Well, why not tonight after school?"

"I can't" Said Taranee with a look of guilt on her face. "Me and Nigel are going to the movies. Sorry, I won't be able to go."

"Yea, and I would rather we all went. We never know what might come after us this time," Will said relaxing with the change of subject.

"Okay, it's settled then. Tomorrow after school we will go to Meridian to check up on things." Cornelia said empathetically with a nod of her head.

"Okay, meet by the old junk yard?" Asked Will to see if that was a suitable spot.

"Yep, I am okay with that. But please, don't bring Blunk." Joked Irma as she finished up her candy bar. The girls all laughed at this and finished up lunch when they heard the bell ring.

_"Back to the grind."_ Thought Will as she gathered up her stuff and headed back into the aging school building.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

"Yes?" came the reply in a hoarse voice over the phone.

"I have a job for you. It requires your ah… delicacy in the matter." The driver from the black Mercedes said nervously scratching his five o'clock shadow.

"And what would this job be? Perhaps some one needs to be silenced?" The man on the other end suggested.

"Yes, most certainly." The driver said thinking of the red haired girl.

"The standard rate?" The man asked, his voice giving out in the end from lack of use.

"Let's just say this job is special, and the standard rate will be increased to cover the costs." The driver said anticipating the question. He was also ready for the next question.

"Excellent. The target?" The voice said with a hint of excitement.

"You will be receiving the information relatively shortly by standard courier… It's the Red head. He wants her eliminated by Tuesday." The driver said clearing his throat. _"She is so pretty. To bad she had to be killed."_ He thought while shifting the phone to a more comfortable position.

"It will be done. Is the information accurate?" The soon to be murderer asked.

"As accurate as can be. Remember, leave no witnesses." The driver said reminding the hit man of his ultimate rule.

"As always. What witnesses?" he said jokingly, chuckling to himself.

"Exactly. Half now, Half later. You know how to reach me when the job is done." The driver said hanging up. With a sigh he went back to his usual business. By this time tomorrow, Will Vandom will be dead.

**A/N: Okay! That was the chapter. So, someone is plotting murder, and it involves Will! Hopefully Will lives. Tune in for the next chapter. Reviews please!**


	3. A Ruined Dinner

**A/N: Wawsome, I'm loving this. More reviews and people actually reading my story. Well, I left you with the thought of Will being murdered. Read on and find out what happens…**

**Oh, Yea. I am now going to just put a standard Disclaimer on the profile instead of the stories. You know the drill...**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"A Ruined Dinner"

"Will, were you going?" Mrs. Vandom asked of her red headed daughter who had grabbed her coat and was heading for the front door.

"Oh, Uh, I am heading over to Hay Lin's place. Were going to be doing our, uh, nails and stuff…" Will said finishing lamely. Mrs. Vandom looked suspiciously at her daughter. She was dressed in Brown Pants and a purple shirt. Her raven black hair fell down between her shoulders framing Brown eyes. Looking at her mom reminded Will of Elisa the detective from Gargoyles.

"Will… I know you. You don't paint your nails." Mrs. Vandom said drying her hands on the dish towel. She had been busy washing dishes and humming a long lost tune from her past.

"Well, Cornelia wanted to show me and I thought this would be a nice time to try it out. Plus I just wanted to Hang out with my friends." Will said, her mind racing to fill in the details of this quick lie. She had never been good at lying, her Mom somehow always knew what was going on. "Plus, I have all my homework done."

Frowning, she replied, "Okay, but be home by…" She could hear the door closing as Will left. "by nine." Heaving a sigh, she returned to her humming and the dishes she had yet to wash. _Oh Will. What am I ever going to do with you?_ She thought while scrubbing off some grease from a pan.

Will let out a sigh as the front door closed behind her. She thought her mother was never going to say yes. Zipping her coat up to keep the cold bite of the fall night out, Will walked away from the apartment complex to the junkyard. On the way there she watched as her breath came out in a white cloud, the fall to the ground from the extreme cold. Shivering she finally saw the wooden fence meant to keep people out. There under a lamppost that shed little light was the rest of the Guardians huddled together.

"What took you Will? We're freezing, quick change us." Cornelia said shivering.

"Sorry guys. My mom wouldn't let me out of the house. She held me up 5 minutes." Will said closing her palm and summoning the Heart of Kandrakar. She could feel its warmth spread through her. Opening her palm up, she could see the pink glow as the Heart floated awaiting for her commands. It still never ceased to amaze her that the Heat resided within her, or had chosen her for being its keeper.

"Guardians Unite! Fire!" Will yelled and an orange colored drop sped from the heart to Taranee. It almost looked like a tear before it enveloped her in an orange cocoon. "Earth, Water, Air!" 3 more colored drops of magic sped off to the other waiting guardians. That was all Will could see before being enveloped in her own pink cocoon of energy and light.

She could feel the transformations taking place on her. Her height grew and wings sprouted from her back. Her clothes vanished to be replaced with a blue and green outfit with a purple shirt. Then it was all over. She could see again and standing before her was more mature versions of them selves. Will always loved transforming, but was disappointed when it stopped. It did leave a nice afterglow though and she could see her feelings reflected on the other guardians faces.

"Alright, Lets get going. My mom expects me to be home by nine." Irma said wrinkling her nose in disgust. Hay Lin launched herself into the air relishing the joys of flight and the feeling of the cool fall air on her face.

"Hay Lin, come down before someone sees you," Taranee said watching as Hay Lin spiraled and looped through the air. "You can do all the flying you want in Meridian."

"Yea Hay Lin, Lets go." Will said holding the Heart out to create a portal to Meridian.

"What are they going to say? I saw a magical fairy flying around my house? Who would believe them?" Hay Lin said shrugging landing just as the portal opened. They stepped through the swirling vortex into another world. Just how little Hay Lin knew that some one would believe them, and that they would be very interested in meeting these fairies…

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

Mrs. Vandom let out a sigh as she sat down on the couch. Checking the clock, she saw that it was about a quarter to 7.

"_Let's see what's on TV shall we?_" She thought picking up the remote and turning the TV on. Scrolling through the channels she saw several soap operas on, a science thing on Mind control through hypnosis, and some cartoons. The rest of it was junk not even worth paying much attention to. Flipping off the television, she just sat there and relaxed closing her eyes and thinking about Will. "Oh Will, I know I can be a terri…" she began to say out loud until she heard the snapping of the front door closing.

"Will? Are you home so soon?" Susan Vandom said looking back towards the hallway where the door was. There was no reply. Getting up she walked back there calling out Will's name. "Will? Is that you honey? Are you there?"

She in turn was only greeted by silence. "Hmm, Strange, I thought I had heard the door close…" she said letting the sentence trail off. Shrugging she turned around to be presented with an ugly visage. Mrs. Vandom let out a scream which abruptly stopped when he hit her hard across the face knocking her down.

Who ever he was had pock marks all over his face and thinning eyebrows. His eyes were a coal black framed by round spectacles and he had a reedy grin on his face revealing uneven teeth. His hair was a steel gray and was thinning. He looked to be dressed in a gray trench coat. Upon his hands were shiny black leather gloves. His eyes drilled into her freezing her into place. She tried to move but her muscles just wouldn't respond.

"W-what d-do you w-want?" Susan stuttered terror filling her inner being.

"Well, your daughter would be nice, but it looks as if she isn't in right now." The man said a scowl playing across his creased face.

"W-what do you want w-with Will?" Susan said fear coloring her voice. Terror of what this man might do to her or her daughter consumed her. She began to shake, shivers running down her spine.

"Well, that's between her and me. I was hopping to just find her, but it looks like I found you instead." The man said his frown deepening before a sinister grin came across his face. Gripping the edges of his gloves he pulled them on tighter. "Unfortunately Mrs. Vandom, I am not allowed to leave any witnesses."

He then reached down and grabbed Susan by the hair and dragged her up with her screaming. "Please! Noooo! We didn't do anything! We don't ahhhh!" She said as he smashed her head into the wall. Susan fell to the ground and tried to scramble away, but the man grabbed her by the feet.

"Oh no you don't, we're only getting started." He said as he began dragging her into her own bedroom, her hands franticly tried to grab anything to stop him from dragging her in. _"Oh dear God, he's going to rape me or kill me.. and do something to Will when she gets home!"_ she thought, her mind racing for a solution but finding none. Picking her up and throwing her in, the man scanned the apartment once more before closing the door.

Josephine and Roger Gerardo had just sat down to dinner when they heard a scream.

"What in all get up was that?" Said Roger looking at the wall where the scream had issued from. He scratched his gray hair and looked over at his wife Josephine. She was dressed in a white sweater that matched her hair and the silver earrings she had on. Even though she was over 50 she still had a pleasant look from aging gracefully. She looked back shrugging with her bright blue eyes.

"Oh, isn't that where that one mother and kid live? You know the dark haired one and the red head? Maybe their having a fight," Said Josephine looking from her husband, to the wall, and back. Roger was dressed in a red sweater, a blue long-sleeved shirt and his bald head looked shiny. His brown eyes looked worried as he thought about the two. They both had seemed so distraught when they had moved in. Maybe there was some tension going on. A mom and daughter fighting about a concert or not about going out with friends. The couple had lived in the apartment complex for over 20 years and were used to people fighting.

"Gee, I don't know. Sounded bad." Said Roger knitting his eyebrows in thought.

"Oh come on dear, if it were anything…" Josephine began to say, but was cut off by another blood curdling scream.

"That's it. I think something bad is going on over there. I am going to go check on them." Roger said getting up from the table. "I'll be right back. Go ahead and start to eat."

Roger walked to the door, opened it, looked back to see Josephina watching him and hearing the screams continue. He left the door slightly open and jogged over to the Vandom door. He knocked on it but go no reply. Knocking again, he called out, "Mrs. Vandom? Will? Is everything all right?" He received no reply. Knocking hard a few times, he went over to the windows, but the curtains were drawn. The screams continued to persist but then cut off abruptly. _"Oh crap!"_ he thought to himself as he scuttled back to his apartment.

"Is everything alright?" Josephine said clutching her chest. Shacking his head Roger moved over to the phone and dialed a number that he had to call several times before.

"911? Yes, This is an emergency. I am hearing screaming coming from the apartment next door and no one is answering the door. Uh, we live on 2053 Birch road next to the Quick mart in the Brown hill apartment complex. Okay, thank you…" he said holding the phone to his ear and straining to hear if there were anymore screams. Minutes later they could hear the sirens of several cop cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck roar into the parking lot down below.

**A/N: Oh my... What happened here? Looks like Will lived after all, but what happened to Susan Vandom? I guess you will just have to wait . Reviews please...**


	4. A Forgotten Memory

**A/N: Okay, I was originally going to post Chapter 5 and Chapter 4 all together in Chapter four, but realizing I had over 3,000 words in typing, I decided that this could stand alone(Lol, Wow, 3300 words exactly! So sweet!). I know, it's long but what can I do? I was bored at work lol. Okay, read and enjoy! Refer to Disclaimer 1 on my profile. **

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"A Forgotten Memory"

Stepping forth from the swirling vortex of blue light, the Guardians entered a jungle like area. Strange calls came from the birds that could be found no where on earth. Even the plant life was different, alien. This was truly Meridian and the Guardians had stepped away from the comforts of their homes into this strange world.

"Well, let's get going. If we are going to make it back home on time we need to hurry." Will said tapping her wrist as if she had a watch on. Nodding their heads in agreement, the Guardians set off hopefully towards a rebel camp.

"I don't think I will ever get used to this place." Hay Lin said doing lazy loops above them ensuring that there would be no traps or patrols from Phobos' troops catching them. She had taken off right after they had come through the portal.

"Hey, at least you don't have to walk in this muck." Cornelia said gesturing to the mud that persisted through out the jungle area.

"Ah, is Corny all muddy?" Irma said in an innocent sweet voice.

"Shut it water brains. I'm not Corny!" Cornelia retorted.

"Who's going to make me?" Irma replied in earnest sticking her tongue out at Cornelia.

"All right you two. Knock it off." Will said shaking her head. "Now is defiantly not the time for this."

The two Guardians fell silent and remained so for the rest of the walk to the camp. Taranee looked at the exotic flowers that they passed by. Some of them were big and purple with red dots, while others had white and yellow running down the petals.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Taranee said to Will. Just then one of the plants shot out what looked like a tongue and grabbed a passing bird pulling it back in.

"And deadly apparently." Will said watching it, a shudder crawling down her back.

Hay Lin who had been mostly silent for most of the trip called down to them, "Hey guys, I think were here!" She swooped by landing as several men stepped from the undergrowth out into the open.

"Caleb will be most pleased to see you!" One of the men said excitedly. They both were dressed in shaggy clothes that needed to be repaired badly. Their hair was unkempt but trimmed to a short length. Their faces conveyed how tired they were, but the men's eyes shown brightly as they greeted the Guardians.

"I am Josh, and this here is Berg. We have been expecting you for some time. Come, come! This way!" The other one who had not talked yet said. He gestured towards where they both had emerged from. They then set off towards the camp.

"They sure are a scraggily bunch," Irma whispered to the other Guardians.

"When you think about it Irma, they can't help it. They have little or no food, hardly any worthwhile shelter, and no money to go out and buy stuff." Taranee said offering an explanation.

"We should bring them something!" Hay Lin said excitedly. "Wouldn't that work?"

"I don't think so," Will said looking at the backs of their guides. "There are a lot of them, and only five of us."

"Still, we are the Guardians of the veil. Maybe we could raid the castle for supplies?" Cornelia suggested.

"We'll work something out. I am sure Caleb would like the help in securing supplies though," Will said nodding in agreement with Cornelia. They may have had their differences, but Will and Cornelia could agree on some things.

"Here we are!" The one named Josh said gesturing to a clearing with many tents set up. In the middle there was a big fire going and where a lot of people were gathered around it. Berg led the way through the maze of tents to the center.

"Wow, there is a lot of people here." Irma commented as they passed by men, women, and children who ran around the new comers.

"Yes there is," Josh said looking back at them. "We are in the process of relocating them to the Infinite City. So far we have moved most of them. The rest of the people you see are all that is left of the rebel forces above ground. We plan on moving them tomorrow. Caleb is at the communal fire discussing the move with some of the men right now."

As they approached they heard voices in heated discussion, though they could not make it out until they got much closer.

"… think we should do that Caleb! It would leave our flank open to attack! We are moving Women and children for crying out loud, not attacking Phobos!" One man shouted.

"I understand your arguments Quail, but we are few of men and we need them scouting ahead for patrols. If Phobos discovers the move, he will surely discover the Infinite city where the rest of the people are. Besides, we won't need men to guard the flank if we move around patrols that scouts find." Caleb said holding his hand up to stop further argument. Looking past Quail his demeanor changed when he saw the Guardians being lead by Josh and Berg.

"Everyone look! The Guardians are here." Caleb said pointing at the group approaching. The current argument was forgotten as everyone looked around at the five girls approaching the group. Caleb rushed forward to greet them. "I see Josh and Berg helped you find your way."

"Yes, and they showed us around the camp." Will said gesturing to the city of tents surrounding them.

"Ah yes, we were just discussing that. I am glad you came by for a visit. We have many things to discuss." Caleb said shooing people out of the way so the Guardians would have a place to sit around the fire, which was looking very inviting as it began to ward away the coming night.

"We heard," Said Irma grinning at the youthful face of Caleb. Caleb had brown eyes and hair, which was trimmed short. He was wearing a beige shirt with brown pants, brown boots, brown gloves, and you guessed it, a brown trench coat. At his side in a sheath was a sword with a dented guard and a dull metal shine to it.

Cornelia thought he looked beautiful. He of course surprised her when they first met, because he was the man from her dreams. Elyon had even given her a sketch of him one day, a sketch that she kept in her journal. Cornelia dreamt of going back to Meridian every opportunity she could get, not because of the exotic wildlife or the beautiful flowers, but for Caleb.

"Ah well, as you can see, we need to move a lot of people to the Infinite city, yet we do not have the man power to accomplish this task. We are stretched so thin that we are having trouble just patrolling around the camp. Possibly you could help us?" Caleb said with hope in his eyes.

"Yes, we would love to help. We came here in fact to see how everything was going and help if you needed it." Will said gazing at Caleb. Will wanted to look away from Caleb, but she couldn't. It was almost as if she were in a trance. It was the way Caleb was catching the light from the fire and the look on his face. From the depths of her consciousness rose a single thought, as if by its own command.

"_Kill him. If you ever see this man, kill him."_ Something snapped in Will and she dove directly at Caleb. Caleb was taken by surprise and fell backwards as Will hit him square in the jaw. In the next instance her hands were around his throat choking him.

"Will! What are you doing?" Screamed Cornelia voicing the thoughts of the other guardians as they dived in after her.

All Will could say was, "Die damn it! Die you bastard!" The next moment she felt hands tugging her away from Caleb. She kicked and screamed punching blindly around her as she tried to get back to Caleb. More hands grabbed onto her and held her back.

"WILL! What are you doing?" Cornelia screamed again into Will's face blocking her view from Caleb. The will to fight left Will as she hung limply. Looking around dazed, a memory surfaced, one suppressed and buried beneath many layers.

_Flashback_

"Will, we are proud of you. You are one of the few students who has pulled through this program. You are proof that the work here has not gone to waste and that it really works." A man in black suit said to Will.

She was standing at Parade Rest with her legs spread to shoulder width, her hands clasped behind her back. She looked straight ahead, her eyes not moving. In fact, someone could wave a hand in front of her face and she wouldn't even blink.

The man paced in front of her smoking his cigarette. Will couldn't see his face though. It always was in the shadows, as if the shadows followed him around. The smoke curled upwards from the glowing tip of the cigarette as it burned. "Eyes, Do you see this picture? This is Shepard Moore."

Will looked at him, then at the picture he was holding up and replied, "Yes sir." Looking at it she could see that it was a picture of a man, no, wait that wasn't it. It was more of a boy in his mid twenties.

"This man must be killed on sight Will. It matters not if your identity is discovered. Kill him. If you ever see this man, kill him." Will studied the picture before it began to fade. Everything around her began to fade. She could feel herself fading. But from the blackness that consumed her a voice called out to her.

_End Flashback_

"Will! Answer me! Why did you try to kill Caleb?" A voice said to her. She remembered the voice. It belonged to a face, a pale face with blue eyes and blond hair. Will was sure the face had a name. _"What is it?"_ Will thought, then it came to her.

"C-Cornelia? Is that you?" Will said her eyes fluttering open. She was greeted by the sight of a very angry Cornelia and frightened Guardians. There were other people around her that she didn't recognize. She realized that she was lying down and that she had a headache. "Where am I? What happened?"

"Will! Don't you remember? You attacked Caleb!" Hay Lin said with a look of fear in her eyes. "You were trying to strangle him!" The other Guardians nodded in agreement with Hay Lin. Will only shook her head bringing a wave of dizziness to her.

"Why do I have… Wait, I tried to kill Caleb?" Will said the words Hay Lin had said finally clicking in her head. "I-I don't remember anything. I was sitting by the fire, and then I woke up with everyone around me!"

"You went totally Bezerko! You just dove right at him Will!" Irma said looking at Will reaffirming what Hay Lin had said.

"We had to wrestle you off of him. You even hit some of us!" Taranee said holding her side. She looked concerned at Will, who had been her best friend since meeting each other. "You really hit hard Will."

"I d-don't remember any of it!" Will sobbed, tears coming to her eyes. "My head hurts! Make it stop!" Will moaned her hands gripping her head as the head ache grew.

The Guardians were in shock at what just happened. Taranee put a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort Will to no avail. Withdrawing from the sobbing Will they all consulted each other.

"How is Caleb Cornelia? Hay Lin asked.

"He will be okay, other than a sore jaw and neck." Cornelia said holding herself.

"This is fishy. Why would Will attack Caleb? And then not remember it?" Irma said looking over her shoulder at the crowd that surrounded Will.

"I really don't know. Have you guys noticed anything going on in-between Will and Caleb? Those words Will said were harsh when she attacked him." Taranee said in response to Irma's question. They all shook their heads no as they continued to talk in the huddle they had formed.

"Maybe school? Or some thing like that? Will has been under a lot of pressure to get her Math grades up. Maybe she just snapped?" Hay Lin suggested.

Taranee immediately refuted it saying, "Nah, I don't think math would do that to Will. She just plain blitzed out on Caleb."

"Well, what ever it is, we need to get Will home." Cornelia said looking around at her fellow Guardians.

"What are we going to do tomorrow about the Rebel's move? They need our help!" Irma asked continuing to look at the crowd that had gathered around the crying Will.

"That's in the morning Irma. We can deal with it later. What matters now is getting Will back home." Hay Lin said. "Come on, let's go." They broke the huddle they were in and walked over to Will whose sobs had died down to a whimpering.

"Will, This Taranee, We are going to take you home. Is that alright?" Taranee asked Will, who only nodded. She continued to feel the pounding of the headache on her skull and just wanted it to stop.

"How are we going to move her? I don't think she will be able to walk." Taranee said questioningly.

"I think I have an Idea," Cornelia said stretching her hands out to the ground. Green specs of magic flowed from her hand and onto the ground where Will was. Vines grew from the earth and proceeded to stretch around Will. The hardened and formed a stretcher of some sort.

"There, I think that will do." Cornelia said looking at the other Guardians for approval. The all nodded in agreement as a rebel stepped forth and gave them a blanket.

"I believe she can use this. She'll need it." The woman said presenting it to Irma, who was a little shocked, but quickly recovered. She had expected the rebels to be hostile right after Will had attacked their leader Caleb.

"Uh, thank you…" Irma said trying to think of something to say. "We will, uh, get this back to you when we can." She then turned around and started to put it on Will. Taranee helped her and looked up and around at the crowd looking for Caleb.

"Cornelia, why don't you go tell Caleb what we are doing." Taranee said giving up. _"He must be at his tent or something…" _Taranee thought.

"Alright, I'll be back really quick." Cornelia said already wandering off to find him. A rebel offered to help her find him and she gladly accepted. Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma only had to wait a few minutes before Cornelia returned.

"So, what did he say?" Irma asked as soon as she rejoined them.

"Oh, he said that he hoped Will got better, and that he hoped to see us tomorrow." Cornelia said not looking at the other Guardians. Irma just shrugged as they lifted the stretcher made out of vines with Will on it. Will had quieted down a bit while they had been waiting for Cornelia to return. Just outside of the tents they ran into Josh and Berg.

"We will take you back to the portal," Josh said gesturing to the little path out of the encampment. Berg nodded in agreement as they began to pick their way through the undergrowth. The Guardians followed at a slower pace since they had to carry Will.

Fifteen minutes later they were back with the blue swirling portal and said their goodbyes to Josh and Berg.

"We hope that she gets better." Josh said glancing around nervously. He hated magic, and was really jittery about the portal.

"We do to. Good luck, and hopefully we will see you in the morning," Hay Lin said to them switching the arm that was holding the stretcher with her free one.

"Yes, hopefully we will see you there." Berg said calmly as if nothing had happened. He knew Josh was nervous around magic and was enjoying his discomfort.

With the goodbyes said the Guardians stepped through the portal and ended back up in the junk yard. Setting the vine stretcher down they all sat down on piled pieces of cars and refrigerators.

"So, umm, are we just going to leave the portal open?" Taranee asked voicing the question that everyone knew the answer to.

"No, we can't. To much of a risk that Cedric or Phobos might come through. We have to close it." Hay Lin said with decisiveness.

"Well, who is going to do it then?" Irma asked the next obvious question. "And are we just going to walk around like this? I don't know about your parents, but mine will want to know why I have wings all of a sudden."

"Will can't do it, so I suppose one of us will have to." Cornelia said looking around at the others, pulling her blond hair back behind her head.

"I will do it." Taranee said looking around at the others for disapproval, but met none. Nodding her head once, she approached Will and took off the Hear of Kandrakar from around her neck. Holding it out to the Portal she thought about it closing. In response the Heart glowed a bright pink before the portal closed in a gust of wind. Next she held it out and thought about returning to her normal self. Again the Heart glowed a bright pink and Taranee could feel her self change back. It was like loosing a nice warm fuzzy blanket from around her.

Pocketing the Heart, she looked around expectantly at the others. "Well, I don't think we can take her home on that stretcher. People might wonder where we got a stretcher made of vines from."

"Yea, I think we should carry Will back to her apartment from here." Cornelia said nodding in agreement.

"Alright, let's do this." Irma said stooping beside Will in her blue jeans and brown coat. Hay Lin did the same and the picked Will up and put her on their shoulders. Will only groaned lightly, but put some weight on her feet to help Hay Lin and Irma.

They walked out of the Junk yard and towards Will's apartment complex. They changed out once someone got tired allowing the other one to rest. Finally they got to the apartment complex, but weren't expecting what they found.

Cops galore littered the parking lot holding people back. There was a KBCV News Truck from Channel 9 with a reporter talking steadily into a microphone. And there being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher was Will's mom.

"Oh god, what happened here?" Taranee said voicing the question all the Guardians had.

**A/N: Alright! Congrats! You made it through the 4th chapter! I knew you could! lol. Anyways, I decided to stop with them arriving at the apartment since I already had so much down. Review please, and tune in next time to find out what happens next in this gripping thriller! (Really, is it a gripping thriller?)**


	5. Uneasy Questions

**A/N: Okay, I finally finished up the 5th chapter to W.I.T.C.H. – Dead Memories. I would like to thank XV-Dragon especially for continuing to review my stories, as well as glPiItTtAer. Not a lot of action, but maybe that will change as the story progresses. Enjoy!**

W.I.T.C.H. – Dead Memories

"Uneasy Questions"

The blue four door sedan rolled down Main Street at a leisurely pace. Detective Ethan Riley and his partner Talia Jones chatted about various things as they watched people walking up and down the street looking into store windows or bustling home from work.

"Did you ever wonder which one of them was the next killer? The next rapist? The next spousal abuser?" Talia asked Detective Ethan as the people passed by.

"I try not too. I focus more on the positive." Ethan said looking at Talia for a moment before looking back to the road. She was rather tall for a woman, at 6'1". She had blond hair cropped short with liquid emerald eyes. She was wearing a pink blouse with a blue pants. Her shoes of course were flat, because trying to run after a suspect in high heels just didn't work out. Detective Ethan admitted she was a looker, but then again she was his partner, and her skill on the rifle range demanded his respect.

Detective Ethan himself wore black pants, a white shirt, with a black tie. He also wore a black trench coat late at night or during the winter. His hair was a sandy brown as well as his eyes. He wasn't muscular, but his workouts at the department gym kept him fit. He had joined the police force as a rookie 6 years ago. He had slowly worked his way up to detective, partnering with his mentor and father Detective Joseph T. Riley. Partnering with his father had ended abruptly in a shoot out with some bank robbers.

The entire Heatherfield Police Department as well as many of the people Joseph had known turned up at the funeral. Ethan even remembered people who didn't know his father show up at the funeral. The death of a police officer in the line of duty in Heatherfield happened rarely if it ever did. Ethan remembered meeting Talia there at his father's funeral. They had chatted for awhile, and then she had to go because she had to take her marksmanship test.

Both were pleasantly surprised when several days later that they were informed that both of them would be partners. Ethan enjoyed her presence and he was sure that she enjoyed his. Ethan now was following in his father's footsteps in mentoring someone new on the force. His thoughts were interrupted by the dispatcher calling out on the radio.

"All units requested at the Brown Hill Apartment complex. Possible ten-fourteen in progress, unknown number of perps." The dispatcher's voice said crackling over the radio. Talia picked up the portable radio and replied to the dispatcher.

"Roger that Margaret, Unit 512 on our way." Her voice was crisp, decisive, and to the point. Ethan flipped the switches to turn the lights and sirens of the car on. He picked up the speed racing to the Apartment complex. Talia shuddered in her seat, and Ethan was sure she wasn't cold as it was a nice balmy 76 degrees out; very nice for an evening like this.

"Sometimes, I wonder how such a small town can produce so much hate." Talia said finally voicing her thoughts. She gazed off into the distance as if remembering something, but shook her head as if clearing it.

"I do too, that's why I became a detective, to stop the violence and the hatred, to give peace to those who need it." He said as he caught sight of the apartment complex. He had been out here a few times for some domestic issues, and this looked to be another one. Right behind them was another police cruiser, a fire truck, and an ambulance. He pulled the car to a stop at the curb and got out. He could see an old man coming down the stairs.

"Can you tell me what is going on sir?" Ethan said gesturing to him as he kind of jogged over.

"Uh, yes I can. My wife and I were just sitting down to dinner when we heard a scream coming from next door. We didn't think much of it but I went over to check anyways. When I knocked on the door no one answered, and the quite abruptly the screaming just stopped." The man said with agitation in his voice.

"Okay, can you tell us who lives in the apartment?" Ethan asked as he began to move up the stairs with Talia and the old man.

"Oh yes, it is this mother and her daughter. Their last name is Vandom. That is just about all I know." The man said replying in kind. Talia gestured with her head to the side at a man coming towards them. He had keys on giant key ring connected to his hip and what looked like a clipboard.

"Hello, are you the superintendent of these premises?" Talia said to him.

"Yes I am, I was phoned that there was an incident and that the police were called. I am Mark Sheinberg, right this way." He said in quick sentences. He was short and had a waddle to him.

"Sir, can we ask that you go back to your apartment and stay there?" Ethan asked the old man who had come out to them. Nodding his head in agreement, the old man entered the apartment next to the one the superintendent was walking to. Talia proceeded to knock on the door.

"Police, is everything all right in there?" She said loudly to the oppressive door. After waiting a few moments and hearing nothing she pounded a little harder. "Police, open up!"

There was continued silence which caused Ethan to worry a bit. He gestured for the superintendent to open the door. Looking back he called over several other officers to accompany them in. Ethan and Talia removed there guns from the holsters and opened the door. They quickly entered the room looking around for someone. The other officers followed them in fanning out. Each one checked a room and called out clear, except for Ethan who had checked the master bedroom. Peering in he could see the room was a mess and there was blood all over. Walking into the room and around the side of the bed he found a woman covered in blood and sprawled out.

"MEDIC!" he yelled as he knelt down next to her to check to see if she had a pulse. She did, but it was weak. She let out a faint groan as he touched her. Two paramedics rushed in and began to stabilize her. Detective Ethan got out of the paramedics way stepping back and walking out of the room. He walked out of the house with Talia in tow. She handed him a disinfectant towel. Only then did he notice the blood that had gotten on his hands.

"God damn! It's a mess in there." Was all he could say before bending over and vomiting. He remembered how the blood had matted her hair and was all over the room. She would be lucky if she lived, with the amount of blood that she seemed to have lost.

"Are you okay?" Detective Talia said to Ethan rubbing his shoulders, stooping next to him.

"Y-yea, I think I will be. Get Crime Scene Investigation out here. Let's get to questioning the neighbors." He said breathing hard and wiping his mouth. _"So much blood, so much damage."_

Talia took out her cell phone and called CSI as a stretcher rolled past them into the apartment. Moments later it reappeared with the victim and several paramedics as it rolled to the elevator. Talia just shook her head as she hung up with the head of CSI.

"Didn't the old man say she had a kid?" Talia asked thinking back to their conversation with him.

"Uh, yea he did. The question now is where is she? Hopefully this won't turn into a kidnapping investigation too." Ethan said straightening up. Looking out from the balcony he could see them wheel Mrs. Vandom into the ambulance. _"Hopefully this won't turn into a murder investigation either."_ He thought turning towards the stairs. Both of them descended the stairs and waited by their car for CSI to show up. This was going to be a long night.

ΩΩΩΩΩ

The guardians all stood stock still hoping this wasn't a dream, that the scene laid out before them was just an illusion. But it wasn't, there was no denying the fact that the person who had been wheeled into the ambulance was Will's Mom.

"Was that blood all over her?" Irma asked in an unbelieving voice.

"I-I dunno!" Cornelia stuttered. First it was Will, now Will's mom. What's going to happen next?

"Come on, let's go find out what happened here." Taranee said grabbing a hold of Will better and moving forward. They walked up to an officer who was standing next to some DO NOT CROSS Police tape. It was Irma's dad.

"Uh, Dad? What happened here?" Irma asked, fright coloring her voice.

"Irma? What are you girls doing here?" He asked. Then he spotted Will being supported by Taranee and Hay Lin. "What happened to Will?" He quickly gestured to some other officers who came over and took support of Will.

"Umm, we were out at Hay Lin's place when she collapsed. We decided to take her home. What happened here? Was that Mrs. Vandom being wheeled into that ambulance?" Cornelia asked in quick succession. Officer Lair only held his hand up to forestall more questions as he spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"This is unit 214. We need another ambulance at the Heatherfield Apartment Complex stat." He said as the other officers checked over Will.

"Roger that 214, ambulance is on its way." The dispatcher replied.

"Alright, I'll tell you what we know. Some neighbors of Will heard some screaming and called police. When we got here, we found Mrs. Vandom unconscious in her bedroom covered in blood. We think someone attacked and tried to kill her." He said squinting in the fading light.

"But why dad? Why would someone do that to Will's Mom?" Irma asked.

"Honey, we don't know. Wait here, I am going to go get the detectives. They will want to talk to you." Officer Lair said looking over at Will laying supine upon the grass. Shaking his head he jogged towards a car where a man and a woman were standing and began to talk with them. An ambulance's siren could be heard in the distance.

"Wow, someone attacked Will's mom. This is getting scary, first Will freaks out and attacks Caleb, now we come back to find Mrs. Vandom nearly murdered. I'm scared guys." Hay Lin whispered to them aware of the officers kneeling by Will a few feet away. The ambulance called for Will pulls into the parking lot driving over to where the group is standing. Several paramedics rush over to Will with bags on their shoulders.

"Yea, this is bad. Will is going to freak once she wakes up and finds out about her mom." Taranee whispered back. Irma's dad and the man and woman are walking over to them.

"Crap, what are we going to tell them? I am sure Hay Lin's Grandma is going to cover for us, but not if she doesn't know!" Cornelia said realizing what was going to happen next.

"I will call her!" Hay Lin said quickly taking out her cell phone and pressing speed dial 2. It rang for several seconds before the phone was picked up.

"Silver Dragon, How may I help you?" Came her Dad's voice over the receiver.

"Dad, it's me Hay Lin. Can you get grandma for me?" Hay Lin said watching the trio walk steadily towards them.

"Yes dear, hold on." Her dad said. There was the sound of the phone being put down. Moments later it was picked up and Yan Lin answered.

"Yes? Hay Lin?" She asked.

"Grandma! We need you to cover for us! Some detectives are going to question us about where we were, and we are going to say at the silver dragon. Is that okay? Will you cover for us?" Hay Lin said quickly.

"Yes dear that is perfectly fine. Remember, be careful about what you say to them." Yan Lin said in reply.

"We will grandma! Thanks a lot! Bye now!" Hay Lin said.

"Bye Hay Lin." Her grandma said putting the phone back on the hook. "I remember those days…" She thought out loud before going back to the cash register.

"Okay guys! She is going to cover for us." Hay Lin said quickly before the Irma's dad and the two detectives descended down upon them.

Will was moved over to the ambulance and a paramedic was working over her.

"Hello, I am Detective Ethan, and this is my partner Detective Talia. Why don't we start by you telling me who you all are?" The man said to them.

"I'm Cornelia, this is Taranee, Irma, and Hay Lin." Cornelia said for them all.

"So, you say you girls were over at Hay Lin's house when Will collapsed. Why didn't you think about calling an ambulance there instead of walking her over here?" Talia asked the four.

"Umm, we didn't think about it. We just wanted to get Will home." Irma said.

"Uh huh… and one of your parents couldn't drive you? As I understand it, the Silver Dragon is quite a ways away." Detective Ethan asked the girls.

"Well, we uh, thought the fresh air would maybe, uh, revive Will a little bit." Taranee said. A Paramedic had walked up to them and pulled Detective Ethan aside leaving the group with Irma's Dad and Detective Talia.

"Alright, I get you. Your friend passed out and you thought a little fresh air would wake her up." Talia said repeating back to them what they had said. "And you walked all the way from the Silver Dragon back here?"

"Uh yes, a lot of us walk to school…" Hay Lin said trailing off.

"Okay, I can understand that. So, what time did you leave?" Talia said glancing at her partner who had returned. The Guardians all glanced at each other and Taranee spoke.

"Umm, seven, Yea we left at seven." Taranee said hoping she had estimated the walking time right.

"Maybe a little after, we can't remember. We just wanted to get Will home." Hay Lin said confirming what Taranee had said.

"Okay, we believe you and thank you for your time, but if you girls think of anything you might have forgotten give us a call." Detective Ethan said stepping in and handing out his business card to each of the girls. They all took his card reluctantly. "Now your friend is going to be all right, the paramedics are going to give her a ride to the hospital to give her a checkout and so she can be with her mom. Officer Lair, if you would?"

"Oh, right, come along girls, I am going to take you home now." Irma's dad said putting his hands around them and ushering them over to his car.

"Dad will we be able to see Will and her mom?" Irma asked her dad.

"Yes dear, but not right now. It is late and you all need to go to bed. You have school in the morning." He replied to his daughter. He unlocked the doors of his car and ensured all the girls were in before getting in himself. Starting the car he took off towards Cornelia's house first.

"I don't believe them. What about you?" Talia said to her partner.

"Nether do I, but there isn't anything we can really do unless we get them separated." Ethan said watching the car turn at the corner and accelerate off.

"What is it do you think they are hiding?" Talia asked him seeing the doubt in his eyes.

"Now _that_ I don't know, what I do know is that Will Vandom did not just pass out, she had a stroke." Ethan said looking at his partner's face.

"A stroke, at that age? How?" Talia said surprise coloring her face and voice alike. _"Such a young one for such a serious thing."_

"The paramedics don't know yet what caused it but they are looking into it. That is why Will is going to the hospital." He said answering Talia's question. "Looks like CSI just got here."

Talia looked where he was looking and saw a van pull into the parking lot with "HPD Crime Scene Investigation" stenciled in neat letters across the side with the Heatherfield Police Badge printed right under it.

"I guess we should show them where to start." Talia said beginning to walk over towards them.

"Yes we should. Maybe they can provide the key to answering how the perp got in and what happened after he or she got in." Detective Ethan said following Talia as she wove her way through cars and people to get to the CSI Van. Looking over to his left he could see the Channel 9 News van parked with Special Reporter Janet Hansen talking into a microphone. Stopping and running a hand through her hair she looked over and caught Detective Ethan's eyes. _"Oh crap, I hope she doesn't want an interview with me."_ Ethan thought quickening his pace to catch up with Talia who was already talking with the investigators from CSI.

**A/N: Okay, I cut this chapter a little short after I realized I nearly had 3,000 words again 00. Yea, a lot of typing I know. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Review Por Favor!**


	6. Startling Revelations

**A/N: Okay kids, I need to ask you an opinion. Do you think that I should reduce the size of my chapters? I am finding that these are extremely huge chapters, and I won't be surprised if they go up into the 4,000 to 5,000 word size. I can always start taking the ΩΩΩΩΩΩ as chapter endings, and post the next section as a new chapter.**

**Anywho, I think I have taken up enough of your time with this issue. Here is the next Chapter in this mysterious series. Sorry it took me so long to post, I got super busy. I attach my standard disclaimer from the main page to this chapter. Read and Review!**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Startling Revelations"

The driver of the black Mercedes was sitting in the ready room reading a newspaper when his cell phone rang. Picking it up he could see that it was from a payphone, and could only possibly be the hit man with a confirmation on the kill.

"Is the job finished?" He asked in a steady voice.

"No, She wasn't in the home." Was the reply. Dread clouded the driver's thoughts. Her programming was failing, which meant she needed to be eliminated as quickly as possible.

"Well find her and don't call me until the job is finished." The driver said angrily.

"We have a problem. I ran into her mother in the apartment. She saw me before I could get out." The gravely voice said before the driver could hit the END button on his cell phone. "I tried to eliminate her, but the feds showed up before I could finish."

"We? Who is this we? You're the one with the problem. Why don't you finish her off in the hospital?" The driver said, dread filling his voice. This one screw up could end the whole operation.

"She will be to closely watched, they will be suspicious about the break in and post a guard by her room. I have no way to get to her. Why don't you get one of your midgets on the job?" The hit man said sarcasm coloring his voice. "They seem to have much 'better' results than I."

"And for good reason too you imbecile. Listen, find the girl and eliminate her at all costs. We will take care of the mom." The driver said returning the tone of his voice to neutral.

"And if anyone else gets in the way?" The hit man asked.

"You know the deal, no witness's. If anyone sees you, eliminate them." The driver said, and with that ended the conversation. _This is turning into a real fiasco._ The driver thought as he dialed the only other number he knew. _This is not going to go over well…_

ΩΩΩ ΩΩΩ

Taranee stared out the window of Officer Lair's car watching the scene run away from them. It was if the car wasn't moving, but the whole world its self were moving. Trees, birds, houses and people fled away from the car as it rolled down the semi-busy street. Many questions floated in and out of Taranee's head as it rested against the window. Why is this happening now? Is Mrs. Vandom going to be alright? Is Will going to be all right? What's going on? Where are the rest of the pieces to this puzzle? Will this end the Guardians of the veil?

The questions continued to persist within her head as Taranee tried to answer them. They kept coming, crowding her thoughts giving her a headache. She pressed her hand to her head as Irma spoke up.

"Will we be able to visit Will and her mom?" Irma asked her dad.

"Yes, but not right now. You girls need to go home to get some sleep for school." He replied looking at the road before them.

"But dad, I don't want to go to school. Will is in trouble and she needs our help." Irma said looking for an excuse to get out of school. In fact, Taranee herself didn't feel much like school either, and the prospect of attending with so much excitement in the air was not pleasant.

"Irma, you have to learn that just because some little disaster strikes doesn't mean the world comes to a halt. Life continues, if only disturbed for a bit." Irma's dad said, his brow furrowing in thought. "You can all see Will tomorrow after school."

Officer lair finished just as the car pulled up to Cornelia's apartment. Cornelia looked bleakly at the others before getting out.

"Guys, text me. We need to talk." Cornelia said closing the door and walking up the steps to her apartment. The others nodded in agreement and watched Cornelia move up the walk. Officer lair waited until he had seen that she got in, then he took off heading for the Silver Dragon.

"I really hope that Will and Mrs. Vandom are alright." Hay Lin said, worry coloring her voice. Her usual happy persona was no where to be found.

"We all do Hay Lin." Taranee said in a comforting voice from the front seat of the car. The car pulled to a stop at the curb of the Silver Dragon. Hay Lin got out, walked up to the front door, and waved to them before disappearing into the vibrant atmosphere of the evening's dinners.

Taranee and Irma remained quite through the rest of the trip to Taranee's home. They pulled up to the front yard with it's neatly trimmed lawn and beautiful flowers planted in neat rows along the front. Light glowed from the living room windows casting a soft glow on the lawn as the sun finally set behind the horizon.

"See you tomorrow Irma." Taranee said exiting the car. She walked up the sidewalk and opened the front door to her living. Looking back she could see the patrol cruiser pull away and disappear around the corner. Stepping into the living room, Taranee was greeted warmly by her mother who was sitting on the sofa watching T.V. with her dad.

"There you are Taranee. How was your time over at Hay Lin's?" Taranee's mom asked as Taranee crossed the living room heading to the kitchen in a subdued way.

"It was alright…" Was all Taranee managed to say before stepping into the kitchen. Taranee's mom could tell something was defiantly wrong, because her daughter was always vibrant and cheerful after coming home from an outing with the other girls.

"Taranee, is everything all right?" She said walking into the kitchen behind her daughter.

"Well, no." Taranee said biting her lip and staring out the window into the dark shadows that covered the back lawn. Taranee could see a single tear make a wet streak down her check reflected in the window. "Will collapsed at Hay Lin's and we took her back home to find her mother was attacked by a stranger in their own apartment. It looks like both of them are in the hospital."

"Oh no, dear that's horrible…" Taranee's mom said coming up and hugging her behind. "Are they okay?"

"I-I don't k-know." Taranee said stuttering. She felt as if some one had gripped her heart, constricting it at first, then smashing it into a wall. "W-we don't know."

Taranee's mother gently hugged her as Taranee's dad came in to see what the fuss was about.

"What's going on in her? Did someone hurt my pumpkin?" Taranee's dad said striding over to hug both Taranee and her mom.

"Well, Will, Taranee's best friend and her mom are in the hospital, and Taranee's upset about it." Taranee's mom said, telling the story to her father.

"Damn, what happened?" Her father asked wanting to know the details.

"Apparently Will collapsed at the girls little get together, and Mrs. Vandom was attacked by some stranger who broke into their apartment." Taranee's mom said filling in the rest of the details.

"Oh no that is terrible. Would you like me to drive you down to the hospital tomorrow? After school pumpkin?" Her dad asked Taranee hugging her.

"Y-yes, that will be w-wonderful." Taranee said, her stutter persisting.

"All right then. Why don't you go get ready for bed so you are all rested for school?" Taranee's mom asked.

"Yes mom." Taranee said wiping the tears from her eyes. She went to her room and did her evening routine, brushing her teeth and changing into pajamas. Taranee then slipped under the covers of her bed, and tried to sleep. But sleep wouldn't come. All she could think about was the questions that had bombarded her in the car. The unanswerable questions that all seemed to be connected, but she couldn't see the connections. Taranee was troubled for a long while before sleep finally claimed her.

ΩΩΩ ΩΩΩ

Beep… Beep… Beep…

"Nurse, how is she?" A male voice said.

"She is still out. Her EKG reads normal along with all her other stats. She is sleeping deeply." A female voice replied.

"Keep me up to date on her status." The male voice said.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

"I really hope she gets well." A different female voice said.

"We all do." Said another one in reply. The voice… it sounded familiar.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

_What is that beeping sound?_ Will tried to think. Her thoughts were muddy, clouded over. She just wanted to sleep.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

_Wait… that sounds almost familiar… A hospital? Or is that an answering machine?_ Will tried to think, but everything was cloudy. _What were those voices?_

Beep… Beep… Beep…

_This reminds me of a hospital… Where am I?_ Will thought. Her thoughts were slightly clearer. There was a pounding in her head.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

_God, that beeping is getting annoying…_Will thought. _I must be in a hospital… why else would there be a beeping noise?_

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Will opened her eyes. She was greeted with colorful pictures on the ceiling. There were cute cuddly bears hanging onto bright colorful balloons. She let out a groan.

"Ohhhhhhh, Gawd. Where am I?" Will said out loud. Her eyes shifted down along her body which felt heavy and leaden. There were clean blue sheets covering her. Her left arm had a needle in it that lead to an IV. The IV led to a bag of clear liquid dripping away into clear plastic tube.

"Will? You're awake!" A voice off to her right said. Looking over she saw Taranee's bright, tired face greet her. "We were so worried about you!"

"T-Taranee? Where am I?" Will asked confused. Taranee got up from her chair and moved over to Will and took her hand.

"Will, your in the Heatherfield hospital…" Taranee said to Will looking into the confused brown eyes.

"Uh… why? I remember we were meeting with Caleb at the rebel camp… then I can't remember anything after that." Will said tears streaming down her face.

"You attacked Caleb Will, you called him a bastard and tried to choke him to death. We pulled you off of him, and you collapsed." Taranee said, watching the pain come across her best friends face.

"I don't remember doing that. Taranee, why did I attack Caleb?" Will cried. A nurse who was making her rounds came in and saw that Will was awake.

"Ah! You're awake. I'll let the doctor know. He will be very pleased to find out." The nurse checked Will's Vitals and wrote them down on a clipboard that was at the end of her bed. Nodding she tweaked with the sheets and commented, "Perhaps now that you are awake you would like to visit your mom?"

"What? Visit my mom? What do you mean?" Will said a look of confusion crossing her face yet again.

"She doesn't know yet…" Taranee said to the nurse trailing off.

"Oh heavens. Dear, your mom is in the Intensive Care Unit. Aparaently some hoodlum broke into your apartment and attacked her. I'm sorry." The nurse said to Will, who turned white as a sheet. The heart monitor started to beep faster with Will's elevated pulse as her heart was pounding.

"Ohmygod! Is she alright? Can I go see her now?" Will said in a rush. Her hand covering her hand in horror.

"Well, not just yet. The doctor wants to see you first, then your friend here can take you down to see her." The nurse said watching as a fresh onslaught of tears began to stream down Will's already wet face. Will could feel Taranee place a comforting hand on her shoulder. The nurse quietly walked out leaving Will and Taranee alone.

"The rest of the girls were here, but they needed to go home and work out a plan with Yan Lin to help Caleb and the rest of the rebels to move to the Infinite city." Taranee said after the nurse had left. "We really need your help Will."

"I-I don't know… my Mom…" Was all Will could say. Taranee handed her a tissue for her to wipe her nose. It pained Taranee to see her friend in such a state. Taranee looked around the room at all the medical monitors and equipment before looking at Will again. She noticed a clock and grimaced.

"Will, I have to go now. My dad is waiting for me. He gave me a ride to visit you. Please take care." Taranee said hugging Will. Will hugged Taranee back, gripping her as if she were her last life line.

"Please, don't go. Not yet." Will begged Taranee. It tore Taranee up to see Will in this condition. Will had always been the strong one, being the leader of the Guardians. Now Taranee could see how easily that visage could be torn down.

"Okay, Just for a few more minutes. Then I really have to go." Taranee said sitting back down in the chair beside Will's bed.

"I'm sooo tired. What Happened to me? Why am I missing time?" Will said wailing. Just then there was a knock on the door. Looking up they could see a man with white hair in a doctor's coat holding a clip board, standing by the door.

"The tiredness? I can explain that. Do you mind if I join you?" The man asked.

"Umm, Sure…" Will said, to tired to care.

"Good to see you awake Will. My name is Dr. Lipinski." Dr. Lipinski said coming in greeting Will. "You must be her friend Taranee."

Taranee could only nod her head in agreement as he came in and pulled a stool up to the bed.

"Well, according to your charts and the action report, Will, I have to conclude that you had a massive stroke." The doctor said flipping between the charts and looking at Will.

"What's a stroke? I've heard of it before… but I don't know what it is." Will asked looking fearful. Dr. Lipinski could see the fear in her eyes.

"You see Will, what happens is a blood clot forms in the brain, or a blood vessel breaks, causing loss of blood to an area of the brain. When this happens, brain cells begin to die. Now in your case, a blood vessel broke. By a miracle though, you lived. You are my child patient who has had a stroke. It is not as common as in adults, but it does happen." Dr. Lipinski began to explain.

"What do you mean it was a miracle she lived?" Taranee asked, unable to help herself.

"Well, you see, for some time Will had been bleeding. At least a half hour before the paramedics even attended her. We rushed her into the OR as soon as she was brought in." Dr. Lipinski said clarifying what he said. "We cleaned up as much as we could, fixed the ruptured blood vessel, and crossed our fingers. I find it amazing that Will can even speak right now."

"You mean… I should be dead?" Will asked. Then something clicked. Her hand reached up and she could feel the white bandages around her head. Dr. Lipinski answered her unspoken question.

"Yes, we had to operate on you. That meant cutting some of your hair off to get to the affected area. I've never seen someone with that massive amount of bleeding live. You're tired from the amount of blood you lost, and your head probably hurts because of some minor brain swelling." He said continuing his explanation. Taranee could only mouth the words _Oh… Wow…_

Will and Taranee gave each other a knowing look. The thing that probably saved Will's life was the Heart of Kandrakar. The Magic within it must of sustained Will through those life threatening hours of her life.

"But wait… I'm confused. What would cause my blood vessel to rupture like that?" Will asked, trying to piece together what happened to her, trying to understand it.

"Many things could of caused it. I have a question for you though, which relates to this. Have you had any recent surgery on the brain? We checked your records which say you haven't… but…" The doctor said waiting for an answer.

"But what? I don't think I have ever had brain surgery… At least I don't think I have. I can't think clearly." Will said wondering about the but.

"We found evidence that you have had surgery or some sort of head injury, not to long ago. The scaring is faint, but is still visible. It coincidently happens to be above the same spot that your blood vessel broke. That's why we asked. We are not sure if that might have had anything to do with your stroke." The doctor said filling in his unfinished sentence.

Slightly shaking her head, Will answered, "No, I haven't had an recent surgery on my head, or for any part of my body for that matter. And I haven't bumped my head… unless…" Will trailed off. The doctor wasn't just going to let this get away.

"Unless what?" He asked very seriously. "You need to let me know everything Will, so that I can ensure that you have a full recovery."

"Well, I have been having a lot of lost time lately… Like… I dunno, it's weird. The time just kind of disappears…" Will said trying to remember all those times she had missing time, and just shrugged it off. Maybe it was a sign of something serious.

"Hmm," Was all Dr. Lipinski could say as he took notes down on his clipboard. "Interesting. Were there any flashing lights around?"

Will shook her head no. "There were never any flashing lights around me. All I remember is sometimes finding myself in places I hadn't left my self, or several hours pass by in a moment."

"Those sound very familiar to seizures. If you had any seizures, you might have hit your head on something." The doctor said taking more notes down.

"Umm, I'm pretty sure my mom would have noticed her daughter spazing out on the hallway floor…" Will said to the doctor closing her eyes. "I'm… really tired. I think I want to sleep now."

"Okay Will. I will leave you and your friend alone. I need to check up on your mom and see how she is doing." Dr. Lipinski replied as he stood up and walked to the door.

"Is she going to make it?" Will asked, her eyes still closed.

"What?" Dr. Lipinski asked of Will, not hearing her.

"I asked, is my mom going to be alright?" Will asked again, frustration showing on her face. She opened her eyes to stare at the doctor who was nervously running his hand through his hair.

"Honestly Will, It's too soon to tell. She was banged up pretty bad when she got here. I'm sorry that both of you are going through this." He said, trying not to upset her, but failing.

"W-what's going to happen to me if she doesn't make it? What am I going to do?" Will cried, tears running down her face afresh.

"Will, Your mom is going to make it. You know she is a strong woman. She will make it. Besides, have you forgotten already your friends? Would we just leave you out on the street?" Taranee said cutting in, trying to sooth Will. Will thought for a few moments before replying, her eyes lowering.

"Y-you're right Taranee. Thank you." Will said before hugging her. Dr. Lipinski had taken this interlude to quietly slip out of the room, and head down the hall.

"I have to go now Will. I will be back later, but I have to go home now. Are you going to be okay?" Taranee asked her woo begotten friend.

"I t-think so. Thank you Taranee. Thanks for being her with me." Will said closing her eyes again for a moment.

"I will be back Will, I promise." Taranee said. Leaving it at that, Taranee stood up and walked to the door, pausing for a moment at the door to make sure Will was going to be okay. Watching her, Taranee could see as Will slowly slipped into an uneasy sleep. She finally left walking out of the hospital to the awaiting four door sedan.

ΩΩΩ ΩΩΩ

Dr. Lipinski stopped at a door with the name "Susan Vandom" on it. Picking up the charts he looked at it and frowned deeply. Mrs. Vandom still had not woken up from her comatose state.

"That poor girl… All alone in the world." He said out loud to himself as he replaced the chart. He knew very well that Mrs. Vandom may not wake up at all.

With that, he replaced the chart and walked back to a secured wing. Standing by the door to a locked room, he showed the Policeman stationed there his I.D. and was let in.

"How are we doing this afternoon Senator Petersburg?"

**A/N: Okay, That was another long chapter. Please remember to let me know about weather or not I should shorten Chapters. If you were confused by that end part, I'll spit it out for you. The Senator Will was told to Assassinate actually lived… Amazing… . Review Por favor!**


	7. Espionage and Diaries

**A/N: I am so sorry that it took me this long to get this chapter written and posted. I got really distracted as of late and I am hoping that my readers are still out there. Anyways, this chapter really doesn't focus on any of WITCH. I know, I know, get to the good parts, but I need filler information and back story put in place before I can do any of that P. Again, This story has nearly reached the 4k word mark as I wrote. There is a lot to get through and I bid thee luck. I attach my standard W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories disclaimer to this story. Read and review Por favor!**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Espionage and Diaries"

The echo of automatic gun fire echoed around the large room. At one end of the room there was 20 targets lined up; riddled with bullet holes, most of them through the head or heart. At the other end of the long room was a row of 20 kids holding everything from AK-47's to M-14's. They all were dressed in grey with safety goggles on and orange ear muffs to protect there ears. Behind the children a man paced up and down the line giving instructions to adjust the shots the children were taking.

One by one each clip was emptied and guns were set down with safeties on. The children came to a parade rest position and awaited their scores as a different man inspected the targets and marked them for score.

"Susie Bigham, Step forward!" A commanding voice rang out. A girl of about 8 years of age stepped forward coming to the position of attention with her hands at her sides curved into a slight fist, thumbs along the seams of her pants. Her heels touched with her toes pointing away from each other at a 45 Degree angle. Her eyes faced forward unmoving. The man with the commanding voice stepped in front of her and got in her face.

"Susie Bigham, How come your shots always stray off to the left, While all your classmates shots are on target?"

"No excuse sir," Was all she could reply, her lip trembling a bit. A strand of short blond hair fell in front of her crystal green eyes.

"Good, because the next time we are on the range, I better see perfect score head shots, do ya here?" The man yelled into her face. Susie was notorious among her class as one of the worst shots in the group. She was always off by 5 or 6 inches. Most of the trainers realized that Susie was only 8 years old (One of the youngest in the program) and trying to fire the guns was hard. But, they still pressed it into her to get better. Quite possibly she would eventually be the best shot in her class.

"Yes sir!" Was her quick loud reply, her self control of keeping her body from shaking nearly lost.

"Good, Return to your position. Jonathan Seymour, front and center!" The man with the commanding voice yelled.

A boy with short mousy straw colored hair and freckles stepped forward and came to attention. He was about 15 years of age and stood with confidence.

"Jonathan, You are the only one in your class to rival the skill of Will Vandom. For that you will be awarded an extra 15 minutes of rest while your class mates run the mile, again." The commanding voice said, admiration coloring his voice.

Even coming close to the skill of Will Vandom, one of Project Innocent Assassins best students was amazing. Will had shown a remarkable aptitude to the training she was given. She was top of her class, and was put into the field earlier than the other students.

_To bad,_ The trainer thought, _that Will Vandom must be eliminated._ The trainer also knew that Jonathan Seymour in all actuality didn't compare to Will Vandom at all. He was the closet, but was far off from her skills. All the trainers also knew that a little positive reinforcement was needed to keep the children in their prime.

"Dismissed!" Was his last command as he watched the children all file out to the track yard where they would run the mile. He watched as even Jonathan followed them. _He knows he is not even close to Will Vandom's skill and that we are bull shitting him._ The trainer thought as another man came over and whispered in his ear.

"Sir, we have intercepted a communiqué between Detective Ethan Riley and Dr. Lipinski. You should here it sir, it is bad news." The man said before turning around and heading through another door into a long hallway.

Quite possibly Susan Vandom had survived the attack on her by the hired assassin and was going to make a complete recovery. He would then have to send in some kid to finish the job, and possibly find out where Will Vandom was. He quietly followed the man who had just left down the corridor. Before him lay a labyrinth of corridors indistinguishable from each other with the same dull grays of the cement and the grayish blue painted onto the doors. Not only was this to confuse invaders of the Hold out bunker, but it was the one of the first lessons that the children learned while here, how to navigate by memory and logic.

He made several right and left turns ending up at a steel gray door. Opening it he was greeted by a dark room that glowed with computer monitors and flashing lights of various pieces of electronic equipment. Sitting before one of the glowing monitors was one of the best men in the wire taping and espionage business, Ray Gallegos. He was of Latino heritage and had black hair with a reedy mustache

Ray had served with the CIA on several operations as well as work on some black budget government projects. He was rated as one of the best in his field because he was the best. He was the one who discovered communications between two terrorist cells that had tried to detonate a nuclear bomb in Washington D.C.

"Ray, what do you have for me?" The man with the commanding voice asked as he stepped forward into the room.

"I don't think you are going to like this George," Ray said not looking away from his monitor. "You know that last assignment for the red head? You know, to assassinate the senator?" he asked in perfect English. Ray knew over 5 languages and could speak 4 of them fluently with out a distinguishing accent.

"Yea? We even got a police report that he had died, Will completed the mission with a perfect score." George replied puzzled.

"Well, apparently it was a ruse. The senator is living George, and is recovering well it looks like. Take a listen…" Ray said holding a set of headphones up. George took the headphones and put them on. There were some voices speaking but were quickly cut off as Ray hit a few keys on his keyboard. Some new voices filled the head set, most notably a female voice.

Recorded Conversation # 7556-A, Detective Ethan Riley and Dr. Lipinski

The cool female voice faded to be replaced by a new voice.

"Hello, Dr, Lipinski? This is Detective Ethan Riley." A male voice said, apparently the detective's.

"Ah, yes, of course Detective. What can I do for?" another male voice replied. _This one must be Dr. Lipinski._ There was a short pause, then Detective Ethan replied.

"I am checking in on the status of Senator Jonathan Petersburg."

"Are you sure you wish to discuss this over this phone? It's not secure."

"Hmm, you're right Dr. Call me on your secure line." The Detective said hanging up.

End Recorded Conversation #7556-A, Detective Ethan Riley and Dr. Lipinski

Recorded Conversation #7556-B, Secure VOIP encryption type J9, Detective Ethan Riley and Dr. Lipinski

"Hello? Detective Ethan?" asked the Dr. as the line picked up.

"Yes, you are on a secure line?" The detective asked to be sure.

"Yes, what is it that you wanted to know about the Senator?"

"How is he doing? Is he going to make it?" Ethan asked.

"He is doing fine. He is on his way to a full recovery. Oh, I am to pass along a message to you from him, he wishes to see you as soon as you can."

"Alright, when will be a good time to come?"

"Perhaps your next visit to check up on Will and Susan Vandom?" The Dr. Suggested.

_What? Will is in the hospital too?_ He thought confused.

"Okay, I can do that. How are both of them doing anyway?"

"I do not believe that Mrs. Vandom will recover from her injuries. The extent of the damage done to her brain was extensive. She may pull out of her comma only to be a vegetable, brain dead."

"I see, so no finding out any clues on whom her attacker was?"

"No, she will not remember anything from when she was attacked or from earlier that day if she does recover. The damage to her brain was to great."

_Good, that is some good news at least. No worrying about the screw up._ George thought.

"Hmm, A pity, what about her daughter? The red head?" The detective continued.

"Other than a massive stroke in which she shouldn't of survived, and the fact of realizing her mother was severely injured, she is alright. I need to keep her for awhile to make sure she doesn't have any other injuries."

"A stroke? She had a stroke?"

"Yes, a major one. It should of killed her, but she is still living and breathing."

_Oh dear god, her kill switch went off, what could of triggered it? And how the hell did she live through that?_ George thought, his eyes widening at the news. The kill switch was a little device implanted in the brain to trigger a major stroke killing the victim slowly through hemorrhaging and lack of oxygen to the brain; activated in case of accidental discovery or a radio trigger. They had tested it many times on animal and man alike and all tests had proved conclusive, no matter the outcome, you died. But it seemed Will had lived. That was going to be there next option if they couldn't kill her through a less suspicious way, but now it seemed they would have to find some other way to put Will out of the way for good.

George switched his attention back to the conversation at hand and what the detective was saying.

"That girl and her friends are hiding something. What they are hiding, I don't know, Now you say you found a strange mark above where the stroke took place?"

"Yes, almost as if she had surgery there, but her medical records indicate no such thing."

_We really need to perfect a way of hiding that incision._ George thought as he listened along. The doctors who preformed the surgery to implant the device were good at leaving hardly a mark, but there still was a small mark that a good mortician could find.

"I'll look into it. Now, about the senator, how is he doing?"

"Well detective, for lack of better words he is alive and kicking. He is recovering rapidly. The bullet meant to kill him must have been slightly deflected by something because it missed his heart by about a centimeter. There was a second round recovered from him that bounced off of his skull causing blunt force trauma but no serious harm. Some one up above was looking out for him."

"Indeed, and he has a message for me?" The detective asked puzzled.

"Yes, he wishes to see you as soon as possible. Your visit tomorrow should suffice." The doctor said.

"Well thank you Dr. Lipinski, I need to go check on CSI and what they have found. I will be at the hospital tomorrow at 9 am."

"Very well, I will inform the nurses to let me know when you get here."

"Alright, good bye."

"Mmm, k. Good bye." The doctor said as the phone clicked closing the connection.

End Recorded Conversation #7556-B, Secure VOIP encryption: type J9, Detective Ethan Riley and Dr. Lipinski

George took off the head phones handing them back to Ray who took them and set them down. Rubbing his eyes he looked around the darkened room shaking his head.

"Bad news eh?" Ray asked.

"Yes, good and bad, some of it worse than the other parts. The higher ups aren't going to like this one bit." George said heading over to the door.

"I would think not, but then again you never know. I will let you know if I get any more." Ray said as he turned from his glowing monitor to watch George leave. "The higher ups will get this in 20 minutes after I make sure I have all of it. Good luck man."

"Thanks Ray. Also keep an eye out on the police band about our guy that screwed up the job." George said stepping out.

"Already on it…" Ray's voice said trailing him out the door before it snapped shut. Turning to his left he began to head away from the wire tapping room to his quarters to get ready for the meeting that was sure to follow.

George stopped by the track field first to watch the kids run their last lap before turning them over to another trainer. He shook his head as he thought, _This is going to get real ugly, real fast…_

ΩΩ

Detective Ethan Riley closed his cell phone putting it in his coat pocket. He was in his usual attire as he looked down at his fancy Starbucks cup with a straight black cup of coffee. He grimaced as he swallowed the last dregs of the coffee before turning to the car where his partner awaited him. Walking to the car he began to turn thoughts over in his head about many things, one of them namely the senator who should have been dead.

The senator was a very lucky man. The sniper who tried to kill him must have forgotten how glass could deflect a bullet, or maybe their hand on the rifle wasn't steady enough. He had the bullet examined to only discover that it was from a Scout sniper rifle. The rifle must have been specially built to be compacted and broken down into pieces to be carried away because they couldn't find any discards. The only evidence of where the sniper had been was several empty shell casings that had been at the base of the telephone pole.

Detective Ethan brought his thoughts to a temporary halt as he slid into the drivers seat of the sedan greeting Detective Talia.

"So, what did the doctor say?" Talia asked as Ethan started up the car and started to drive towards the apartment complex where the attempted murder took place.

"Good news, bad news, and interesting news." Detective Ethan said looking over at his partner who arched her eyebrows at him. "What do you want to here first?"

"Well, lets here the bad news first." Said Talia as the came to a stop at a red light.

"Okay, the bad news is that the little girls, Mom probably won't make a recovery, and if she does, she won't be able to remember anything that happened to her that day." Detective Ethan said watching his partner bow her head at the news.

"The poor girl. Such a young age to loose her mother." Her voice said with a strange quality, as if remembering back to a time in her life.

"Indeed, well there is the good news." Ethan said starting to drive the car again as the light turned green.

"And what would that be?" Talia asked raising her eyes to the road.

"The senator lived through the attempted assassination attempt and will make a full recovery. He also wants to speak with me when I go to visit Will and her mom." Ethan said turning into the parking lot of the apartment complex.

"That is good news. At least we can now try to piece together the story and why someone wanted him out of the picture." Talia said shaking her head. Not many people were shot by a sniper and lived to tell the tale. Ethan continued to drive until Talia prompted him about the "interesting" news.

"Oh, right. Well, when I was talking to the doctor, he said that the stroke she had should have killed her. Specifically, she should have been clinically dead when the ambulance came to pick her up. Yet, she lived. Either this is a miracle, or there is something else going on." Detective Ethan said filling her in on the interesting news. "I am going to talk to her to see what might have happened to cause her stroke."

"Here, let me come with you tomorrow and I can talk to Will, and you can go talk to the senator. I am sure we will have much to do and me helping you to interview them tomorrow will speed things up a bit." Talia said as the car came to a stop and Ethan turned the engine off.

"Alright, we can do that. I want to find the people committing these crimes as fast as possible, before anyone else gets hurt." He said before opening the door and stepping out into the bright sunshine of the day. Looking around both Ethan and Talia could see the police tape was still up. A CSI van was on the other side of the tape and they could see a man looking at the door on the second story.

"Shall we go find out what they have to say about this crime scene?" Talia asked as they both moved up the stairs to the team working on the apartment.

"Indeed we shall." Ethan said looking around at the white stucco walls that were stained a rusty color here and there. The technician saw them and waved them over.

"Detectives, good to see you. Let me show you what we have so far with the crime scene." The man said in a smooth voice. He was approximately 5'8 with olive colored skin. His eyes were emerald green and his jet black hair was combed back. He looked younger than he really was, and his explanations told the detectives that he was a seasoned investigator. His name was on a badge and read Mohammad Mekuria.

"Please do. We want to get this Investigation over with as soon as possible." Ethan said following Mohammad.

"Well, we first examined the door for forced entry. No luck there." The Mohammad said showing them the door. "So either the victim new the attacker, or the door was unlocked."

"Hmm, We will have to check the kids possessions to see if she had a set of keys on her. If she did then they might of known the attacker." Talia said writing that question down in her notepad she always carried with her.

"Next we investigated inside and we believe this is how the events went down. First, Ms. Vandom opens the door and either invites the attacker in, or the attacker pushes his way in. Next, the attacker smashes Ms Vandom with considerable force in to the wall here." Mohammad said showing a big dent in the drywall. "After which he dragged her into her bedroom and proceeded to beat her repeatedly with several different objects, including a lamp pole and the wall."

"Did you find any prints on anything?" Ethan asked hopeful.

"We did recover 2 sets of prints, but they are more than likely the mother and daughters prints. The guy probably was wearing gloves." Mohammad said watching the Detectives nod with a pessimistic look. "We also checked for foot prints in the blood and found none. Now we think we found where the perp exited the house."

They followed Mohammad to a back room filled with frogs and various other things. "This must be the kids room," Talia said looking around. She found several girl magazines and some pink shirts scattered about. But what was most apparent around the room was the broken glass glinting in the harsh light of the room. Looking at the window she could see its glass missing. Both Detectives stepped forward and looked out to a tree that came level with the window, and provided a perfect exit area from the house.

"Are we sure the attacker didn't enter through here?" Detective Ethan asked Mohammad.

"Yes, were pretty positive. The glass in here is minimal to compared to what we found outside. The perp defiantly broke out here, most likely when he heard the police outside." Mohammad said.

"Hmm, Thank you Mohammad. You'll let us know if you and your team find anything else?" Talia asked thanking him.

"Yes, I most defiantly will. Oh, yea, I almost forgot. I found this on the bedroom floor lying open as if someone had been going through it. The perp might be looking for the girl." Mohammad said holding up a journal. It had cute little stickers all over it and in neat cursive was titled, Will Vandom.

"Hmm, I'll take this and see if there are any pages missing. Thanks again Mohammad." Talia said as she and Ethan turned around and exited the apartment.

"The kids diary eh? We might have a stalker on our hands. I'll call in right now and have a guard posted at both her mom's door, and hers. I don't want anything else to happen to them." Ethan said as they got back in the sedan to head off for the office.

"I think I'll handle the girl's side of this story, and you can handle the Senators side of this. I can't shake the feeling that both of these cases are connected." Talia said knitting her brow in to a frown.

"Hmm, Indeed. Well since I don't see any concrete evidence that they are connected, we will have to treat them as two different investigations." Ethan said as they drove down the road. Talia's eyes searched about the street but kept coming to the diary. _Perhaps the answers we seek are to be found in here? But who knows, maybe it is just nothing._ Talia thought as the card drove on.

**A/N: Whoa! A lot of reading huh? Well I'm glad you made it through all that. I will probably focus on the girls now in the next chapter as I continue to bounce around with the plot. Hopefully you don't get too bored as I do this. I will also be writing another story and be posting it soon, so I might alternate between writing between the two (First this one, then write a chapter for the next one). That's right! Time to review the story! Tell me how it went and if my chapters need to shorten up a bit. Hasta Luego!**


	8. Mysteries Revealed

**A/N: Okay… It took me 8 months to write, re-write, and then post this chapter. Right… I'm doing good! Anyways, I hope you all haven't really given up on me. I'm finding much more time to write my stories, and I want to get this one wrapped up before I do anything else. I'm sorry if you have to go back and read a few chapters before you can read this one. Where was I? Oh yes! Waiting for your reviews!**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Mysteries Revealed"

The lights in the Silver Dragon cast a soft glow on the dinners as they merrily ate the delicious food they had been served. The buzz from the dinners talking filtered into the kitchen where the Guardians, minus Will, sat around talking.

"Well, how are we going to help Caleb and the Rebels? We can't just leave them!" Cornelia said glaring at the others.

"But we need Will to turn us into the guardians to do anything useful. Otherwise we will probably just be lazing around and getting in the way." Irma replied in kind to Cornelia.

"Not necessarily Irma. We don't have to be guardians to help them. From what I heard he needs more men to help scout out and protect the rebels as they move." Taranee said calmly.

"Well how come you can't just turn us into the Guardians Taranee! You returned us back to normal when Will was hurt." Cornelia said turning her wrath upon Taranee.

"I don't think I could do that. Will is the keeper of the Heart. The Heart just kind of did the work for me turning us back to normal." Taranee stated shaking her head.

"Well, what ever we decide, we need to hurry up on it. Caleb is expecting us soon." Hay Lin piped into the conversation trying to break up the hostility.

"I agree with Irma, horsing around talking is not going to get anything done. I say we just go and see if we can help out. Even if we aren't in guardian form we should still be able to help Caleb." Irma said surprising everyone with a spurt of maturity. Cornelia just shrugged at this.

"Well how do you propose we get to Meridian Einstein?" Cornelia said mockingly. "Only Will was able to open up and close the portals."

Irma just icily stared at Cornelia as the statement hung out in the air. Everyone was reminded of how they all depended on Will, not only as their leader, but also to help them become the guardians and get to Meridian and back. Hay Lin sat in thought for a few seconds before scampering off and yelling back, "Be right back!"

"She have to go to the bathroom or something?" Cornelia asked as she watched the Asian girl's pigtails disappeared around a corner.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go." Irma replied looking back at the others. But Hay Lin returned shortly carrying a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Ta da!" She said unrolling it to reveal a map of Heatherfield. Everyone looked at it dumbstruck while Hay Lin explained. "I still have this! We can use it to hunt down an open portal. I'm sure that we haven't closed all the ones we were supposed to close."

Taranee nodded looking at the parchment.

"But of course! It probably still keeps track of all the portals in Heatherfield." Taranee voiced to the girls agreement all around her. "Good idea Hay Lin."

The map Hay Lin had retrieved was the one her Grandma had bestowed upon her to guard, which kept track of all the open portals in Heatherfield. It was a little wrinkled around the edges but in otherwise good condition. The black ink was as sharp as ever as if the map had been drawn just yesterday.

"Alright, Lets get set to go help Caleb and the Rebels. Meet back here at 8?" Cornelia asked around the table. She got affirmative replies from the rest of the guardians, who then left to go collect supplies for the task that lay ahead.

Ω

All Hospitals have a smell that is common to all of them. It's that, clean sterile smell. Detective Ethan didn't like that smell because it brought back memories of the day his father was killed. Shaking his head he stepped into the corridor that held Senator Petersburg's room. To his merry surprise there were guards posted at the ends of the hallway, and one at the Senator's door. And they knew what they were doing too.

"Can I see your ID sir?" The man who was guarding the senator's door asked as Ethan approached. Nodding his approval, Ethan took out his police badge and showed it to the man. "The senator is waiting for you sir."

Ethan stepped through the door into the well light room. There was another guard in a chair waiting by the door. Upon seeing Ethan he stood up and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Ethan could hear the beeping of the heart monitor and see the light's blinking on the medical equipment. Lying in the bed was the senator, an I.V. in his arm provided a clear looking liquid in the drip bag a way to get into his system.

The senator had brown hair cropped close. He had intelligent brown eyes that measured Detective Ethan up and down, not missing a single detail. His face was clean shaven and showed how truly tired he was.

"Welcome Detective to my humble abode. Come please, take a seat right over here." The senator said his voice rough, probably from not using it in some time. His hand gestured to a chair by his bed. "We have much to discuss, you and I."

"Senator Petersburg, it's good to see that you are doing alright." Ethan said while moving over to the chair and sitting down.

"Call me Jonathan. Senator Petersburg becomes tiresome after awhile." He replied to Ethan's comment. "It feels good to be alive. You don't know how good."

"Well, why don't you tell me how good it is to be alive?" Ethan said slipping into his 'detective' mode.

"Very good. That is why I wanted to talk to you." Jonathan said looking over to Ethan.

"You wanted to tell me that you feel good to be alive?" Ethan asked wondering if the senator was just wasting his time.

"That and more. I need to talk to you about a conspiracy… and why someone wants me dead." Jonathan said looking up at the ceiling, as if preparing himself for the conversation ahead. "Well, to be exact, someone is too few. Why a lot of people want me dead."

This of course sparked Ethan's curiosity. Not only did Senator Petersburg know who wanted him dead, but probably knew why and was about to tell him. "Do tell Jonathan. I need to know who, what, when, where, and why to get this case solved to keep you safe. I don't want another assassination attempt to occur." Ethan said, his voice showing some concern.

"Alright… where to begin? Oh I know. Detective Ethan, do you believe in mind control?" The senator asked catching Ethan completely off guard.

"Uh… Mind Control?" Ethan asked confused. The senator probably had gone off his rocker, or maybe that bullet did more damage then the doctor knew about.

"Yes! Mind Control! You know? Controlling other people's actions through hypnosis, devices… etc. etc. etc?" The senator continued on.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that I believe in it. But I have read a few sci-fi novels about it." Ethan replied to the senator's brief explanation.

"Well, what I'm about to tell you is not a Sci-fi novel. No no no… what I'm about to tell you is one of the biggest conspiracies in all of the world possibly." The senator said, his eyes returning to Ethan.

"You see Detective Ethan, I belong… well used to belong to a group of 12 men. It was an exclusive group… a secretive group. Kind of like the Knight's Templar, only it was for business." Ethan continued, taking a short breath.

_Great… I have a lunatic senator who believes in mind control and the Knights Templar._ Ethan thought to himself. This was going to go badly, he could tell already.

"I know, I know… you're probably thinking that I'm some crazed guy who should never have been in office, but what I'm telling you is the truth. I have evidence to back up my claims, and ones I'm about to make.

"You see Detective, this group has connections everywhere; their fingers are in all the pies they can get their hands on. The members are Wealthy CEO's to Fortune 500 Companies and Politicians like me. The members of this group are exclusive, seek power, wealth, and domination. Quite frankly, I believe they already have world domination, but that's beside the point I'm trying to make." The senator said, taking a pause to re-collect himself.

"Alright then, what is the point you are trying to make?" Ethan asked in this brief pause.

"The point I am trying to make is this, that group has the resources, power, and lack of moral values to do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want, and get away with it. They were here long before me and will be here long after I'm gone, unless something is done." The Senator said, looking from Detective Ethan to the window and back.

"And what is the name of this mysterious group, if I may ask?" Detective Ethan asked, playing along for now. If the Senator really was crazy, he would be hanging himself.

"Black Magic. That is the name of the group. Don't ask me where the name came from, because I don't know. All I know is that long ago, maybe hundred's of years ago they were established. As members of the 12 died off, another is recruited into their midst. I was recruited not too long ago, and I dearly regret it." The senator said, anxiety covering his face. Detective Ethan only nodded, allowing the senator to continue with his Narration.

"The group would meet once every month to discuss business of Black Magic and make executive decisions. Most of their decisions are business based, and aimed towards securing their control of the world. Money is power, and so they expend large amounts on research and development of new technologies to sell, or use to gain more power." The senator said, his gaze never leaving Ethan's face. "They can pull off assassinations with out it ever falling back on them. That is how powerful they are."

"This is where Mind Control comes into it. Mind control, while a 'science fiction' favorite, is actually a wonderful idea. Think of it Detective! If you can control people to make decisions that would be beneficial to you, you automatically remove many obstacles! Mind control is a must have if you are bent on world domination." The Senator gestured enthusiastically with his hands.

"So they found a way to do Mind Control?" Detective Ethan asked, wondering if this was going where he thought it was going. Little did he know it was about to take on a whole new dimension.

"Exactly! One of their facilities out here in Heatherfield discovered how to do it. By accident, but they figured out how to do it! It happened while they were doing an experiment for…" The senator started to say and then faltered. A dark expression came over his face.

"For what?" Detective Ethan asked, curious. If it was all fake it was turning out to be slightly interesting.

"For who." The senator said barely in a whisper.

"For who?" Ethan asked confused.

"Yes, for who. They were doing an experiment for the 12th member." The senator did not sound happy when he said this.

"The 12th member? Who is that?" The Detective asked, wondering who this was and why he caused so much strife.

"You have to understand detective, that as a safety precaution, we all keep our Identities for the most part secret from the majority of the group. It's to protect us in case someone were to be captured and questioned. When we all meet, it's in the shadows, but eventually we all end up knowing who one another is. Everyone except the 12th member. That is what he wants to be called, the 12th member. We never see him, only his lackey." Jonathan said staring off into the distance.

"Lackey?" Ethan asked prompting the senator to continue.

"Yes, Lackey. He never comes to the meetings in person. He has a tall blond hair, blue eyed man deliver his orders, and requests. Out of the 12 he is the most demanding and self centered. His lackey isn't any better. We don't know his lackey's name, only that he has a book store here in Heatherfield." The senator said looking anywhere but at Detective Ethan.

_Great… owns a bookstore in town. He'll be easy to find…_ Ethan thought sarcastically to himself. Even though Heatherfield was a small town, it had a lot of bookstores. He then asked the senator, "Do you know where his bookstore is at?"

The senator only shook his head no. "We tried following his lackey to this bookstore, but were never able to completely follow him. He somehow always disappeared in mid-air, gone! We even had our professional do it…" Jonathan said with a tired sigh.

"How did this 12th member come into the group?" Ethan asked wanting to know how he was recruited.

"Contrary to popular method, he recruited Black Magic. I know it sounds weird but he approached us and wanted to join. One of our members had just died and well, we were looking for a new one. We had several candidates, but this… this 12th member knowing about Black Magic completely blew us out of the water. Black Magic decided to keep him since he knew about us before we even approached him. Heck, Black Magic didn't even know he existed till he approached us.

"The 12th member is the one who started the chain of events that has lead to my assassination attempt. You'll never be able to catch him though… I don't think anyone will. But yes… it was researchers on his project that brought about the discovery of Mind Control." The senator reached over to the stand next to the bed and grabbed a glass of ice water, and started to suck the cool liquid with the straw. Detective Ethan took this as a chance to ask a question.

"So, what are the events that lead up to your assassination attempt?" he asked impatient for a reply. He really needed to move on to some paperwork that he had to complete.

"I'm getting there. Just please take a few moments and listen please." The senator said looking harried. "Where was I? Oh yes… Mind Control and Black Magic. So yes, they had discovered how to do mind control… but it was limited in the test subjects. Adults it seemed were pretty immune to mind control. Something about nuero-pathways degrading or something like that with age. So the researchers decided to test their method's out on children." At this Jonathan cleared his throat and said rapidly. "Several of the umm… younger subjects died painful deaths."

"You used children in experiments?! And some of them died from it?!" Ethan's voice rose quite considerably at this.

"Ethan… The work going on wasn't under my control… I may have been 1 of the 12, but 11 vs 1 easily beats me. The other eleven, especially the 12th member wanted us to push forward. I believe this is where plots to have me assassinated came into play. I wasn't a team player anymore and therefore was a threat. I know information that can bring the entire organization down." Jonathan gestured widely with his hands, as if conveying an entire library of books of the crimes committed by Black Magic.

"But they were children… how can you do that to children?" Ethan asked taking a new view of the senator. He was no longer the warm adoring man who worked to better the world… but a man who with cold heartedness could condemn children to painful deaths.

"I couldn't, and never will. All I could do was watch in silence as the progress reports rolled in, and the death toll rose. Eventually the team assigned to the project made a break through. Children stopped dying and they had stable results. We could now brain wash children to do our bidding. But what can Children do? They are weak, small, can be overpowered easily… The fruits of mind controlling a nation of children would take years to fulfill. And not to mention the fact that not all the children you mind controlled would ever reach places of power." Jonathan said, as if presenting a problem to the Detective. "What are children, Detective?"

"Umm, Cute, adorable, innocent, not murders." Ethan said to Jonathan wondering where this was going.

"Exactly Ethan. Not murders. No one ever expects a child to kill someone. There have been times yes, when children have committed grave crimes. But come now? Who would think a child was a murder? And thus was born Project Innocent Assassins." Jonathan said giving the first clue to what he was leading up too.

"Innocent Assassins?" Ethan asked. "You mean turn children into killing machines?"

"Exactly Detective. Did you know it only takes 5 pounds of pressure to break the skin with a knife? A goal a child can properly accomplish with the correct amount of force. And when you look for a killer, you're not going to look for a child are you? No! They are the perfect assassin. Young, Innocent, Invisible. Children are a natural part of our lives and we expect them.

"You take a child and mind control it. You then teach the child how to do various things with knives, guns, sniper rifles and viola! You have a trained assassin who will do your bidding whenever you want. In fact I do believe that my attempted assassin was one of these innocent children."

"Your joking right? Turn a child into a crazed killer with no remorse?" Ethan asked reverting back to his belief that the senator really was crazy.

"No I'm not. Hitler did a sort of mind control of his own, brain washing the youth of his nation to commit terrible deeds in World War 2 through propaganda. The fact of the matter detective is that there are children out there who not only can kill, but will kill. They do it because it is what they have been trained to do. I believe Will Vandom is one of those children." The senator said looking at the detective for is reaction.  
"What? Will Vandom? But… she's in a room not too far away?" The Detective said trying to piece together what was once reality to him.

"Will Vandom, graduated the top of her class, exceeding endurance and strength tests of all the other children. Her skills are remarkable. She is the perfect killing machine. When children are tested, they are tested according to the bar set by Will Vandom." The senator said explaining to Detective Ethan.

"But she's in a room not to far from here… and if she is a trained assassin as you say, we should put her under lock and key!" Ethan exclaimed standing up, about to just go do that.

"Sit down detective, she is no threat anymore… as far as I can tell." The senator said gesturing to the chair Ethan had just vacated.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked sitting back down in the chair.

"Let me explain more about this mind control process, and the safety measures put in place. A child is taken into a room where they are hooked up to a machine that does the brainwashing. It partitions their brains, sort of like a computer, splitting it into 3 parts. The first partition, the main one, is the personality of the child, the child's memories, thought's feelings. Everything who the child is, is placed in that main portion. This is very easy to do as a child has very little experiences, or memories to deal with. Are you following about what I am saying?" Jonathan asked Ethan to make sure that he was understanding everything.

"I guess. I have a home PC and the example makes a little sense, but what does this have to do with Will?" Ethan asked.

"I'm getting to that. The next partition is smaller then the first, but still quite large. If you cut up the brain's memory capacity into sections, the first partition occupies 50 of that. The next partition is about 45. This portion is where the child receives its dead memories.

"Dead Memories?" Ethan prompted, the meaning evading his grasp.

"Dead Memories. Memories that are asleep or dead. A child's training, experience, alternate life." The senator explained, taking a sip of the ice-water on the table next to him. "You have to realize Ethan, that if a child is doing their normal routine and they remember killing someone amidst it, not only would it jeopardize the operation going on, it would cause trauma that would destroy all the work that had been done on the child."

"So, Dead Memories. The experiences that you don't want to interfere with keeping the child's cover?" Ethan added questioningly.

"Correct, if the child doesn't remember anything, he or she won't blow their cover." The senator affirmed Detective Ethan's thought process.

"What about this '3rd' partition? What does it do and why is it so small?" Ethan asked wanting to continue on.

"The 3rd partition is the programming. The instructions that run, and respond to certain keywords. Kind of like writing a program for a computer. When certain event's happen, different actions are taken." The senator explained drawing on his little knowledge of the program, and someone else's explanation.

"Certain Keywords? Like passwords?" Ethan asked continuing with the computer comparison

"Yes, kind of like passwords. Black sun, Purple Lama, Words that would never normally be said to a person. And when the subject hears them, it triggers certain responses based upon their programming." John replied, finished with that.

"But how does that improve safety?" Ethan asked, still focused on the Senator's Safety.

"Oh, Yes I forgot. That programming I talked about has one other function. It looks for signs that the brainwashing is slipping. It then executes a mind wipe of the dead memories and triggers a 'kill' switch. A little device embedded in the brain that causes hemorrhaging, which would result in death. Doctor's would diagnose that as a stroke." The senator replied answering the safety question.

"The doctor said Will nearly died of a stroke!" Ethan exclaimed, surprised. "Does that mean all her dead memories are gone?"

"Yes, and no. Going back to our computer analogy, when the memories are deleted, erased, wiped, however you want to call it, they still exist in bit's and pieces. I'm sure that Will still has flashbacks of rogue memories." Jonathan said turning to look out the window on the other side of his bed. His gaze watched the blue sky and his voice never faltered as he continued, "Will Vandom is in a struggle to survive, just as I am. Black Magic's top student in project I.A. is still living with training to infiltrate, find, and kill target's. Even though she has lost her dead memories, the reflexes that were ingrained into her still exist. I guarantee that Black Magic will continue to haunt her until she or them are eliminated. The same for I, since I'm sure by now that they have found out I'm still alive."

"Black Magic knows you are still alive? But how? And how do you know?" Ethan asked surprised and now weary of his surroundings. The senator's survivability depended on keeping his recovery a secret. If people knew he was still alive, that chance to continue living greatly decreased.

"Very few secrets are kept from Black Magic. And if they don't know I'm still alive yet, they soon will. They have eyes everywhere, willing and unsuspecting ones. The fact that I'm still alive bears proof that the ruse has worked for now, but that will change in the future." Jonathan said finally returning his gaze to Ethan. "Trust few people Ethan, especially the children. Countless numbers have been turned to Black Magic's cause."

"So what am I to do? If you are in danger I should probably add more security or something… And you said something about a professional?" Ethan said finishing lamely as he recounted the power that he was told that Black Magic held. It seemed as if Black Magic held all the cards and would win.

"Yes, before we had innocent children to do our killing, we had a professional hitman do it. His line of work is flawless, until now. From what I've heard about Ms. Vandom, it was surely him who did that to her. It's his signature style. Ms. Vandom is lucky she survived the attack." The senator answered, holding up a hand to forestall any other questions the Detective might have.

"For now you have to secure evidence against Black Magic. It can be found in my home office. Records, paper trails. It's all there. It should be enough to open an investigation on some of the various 12 of Black magic." Jonathan said to Ethan, holding him in his gaze. "Then you must get that evidence to the public. Black Magic must be brought to justice for their deeds."

"Alright, I'll do that. Will you be fine here?" Ethan asked as he stood up, preparing to leave to collect the evidence required to prove that Jonathan wasn't crazy, and save the world from apparently a powerful organization.

"My safety is irrelevant. What has been provided is enough for now. Black Magic may be able to pull off assassinations without it falling on them, but they like to work from the dark. I'm in the limelight, not such an ideal place to kill someone. But you on the other hand must be careful. Just as they have found out that I'm alive, I'm positive that they will find out that you know of their secret." The senator replied gesturing for Ethan to leave. "Leave while time is on our side."

Ethan only nodded as he left the room. The guard who had left earlier disappeared inside to continue his job watching the senator, and keeping him company. There were still many questions burning in his head, but his drive for evidence and proof override the need to know more. He left the hospital and got in his car to drive off to the Senator's Residence. He was so preoccupied with what had occurred just then, or he would of noticed the beat down car that followed him.

Ω

The moon was suspended above the town, its pale visage keeping eternal watch as life continued on below taking for granted the beauty of the sight in the starlit sky. The streets were cast in a mellow glow from the yellow light of street lamps as they provided light to those few who wandered after dark. Dark shadows playfully darted here and there as trees swayed in the light breeze that cooled the night.

Few people took notice of the troop of 4 girls that briskly walked the streets in their warm attire, or of the parchment held in the hands of the one with pigtails. If they did notice, they shrugged it off as teenagers being teenagers and thought naught of it again.

"This way," Hay Lin said, her nose glued to the map as she made a right turn down a dark alley. "It's just up ahead."

"Are you sure Hay Lin? This alley is awfully dark and spooky," Cornelia asked, as the wind swirled leaves and bits of trash around them. Wisps of her blond hair tried to follow the leaves as they made their journey to some unknown destination.

The Asian girl nodded affirmatively as Irma made a sarcastic response, "Is Corny afraid of the dark and the big bad boogey man?"

"For your information my name is Cornelia and no, I am not afraid of the dark." Cornelia replied, taking a tentative step towards the dark alley. She wasn't afraid of the dark per say, but afraid of what might be **in** the dark. She also didn't want to give Irma the satisfaction of being right. Taranee saw her dilemma and looked around. Finding a small branch that was laid against the white washed wall of an old garage, Taranee summoned heat into her palm and was able to light it on fire with some effort.

"There, we now have light to see by, though why we forgot to bring a flashlight with us is beyond me," Taranee said walking into the alley a few feet, then looked back to see if the others were following her.

"Hmph, 'cause no one told me to," Was Irma's remark as she began to follow Taranee into the alley. "Coming Corny?"

"Yes!" Cornelia said affirmatively trailing after Irma and Taranee. Hay Lin herself looked up and down the intersecting street before following them into the alley.

"We just need to keep going this way and it should be right here," Hay Lin offered as the four huddled around the meager light that the makeshift torch provided. Hay Lin was proven right as a soft bluish glow issued from ahead. The light grew brighter and brighter making the torch that Taranee carried obsolete.

"Well, here it is," Was all Taranee could think of saying. They were about to go through a portal that they all had done countless times before, but this time was different. They didn't have Will with them, who was still hospitalized from whatever had happened to her. Coming back to the present, Taranee dropped the branch and stamped out the fire that had helped them make their way to the portal.

"See you on the other side!" Hay Lin yelled bounding through the portal disappearing into the world beyond, Meridian. The rest followed suit and emerged into a sunlit day with rays of light filtering through the fauna. Hay Lin was already striping all her clothes that had kept her warm on earth off. Here it was nice and warm, much too warm for the sweaters and coats that they had all worn to keep off the nights chill.

"So hear we are. I guess we should find Caleb now to help with the move." Irma said scratching her head. Since the rebel's were constantly moving, this could be a chore. But before they could even start they heard rustling in the leaves around them. "And I wish we'd brought Will with us!"

Blunk burst out from the bushes next to them giving the girls a little fright. "Blunk found portal! Blunk found girls!" And from behind him Caleb appeared dressed in his usual rebel garb and carrying a pack.

"Good Job Blunk! I'm glad we found you! Phobos has increased patrols since he is still unsuccessful in trying to find us." Caleb said in greeting the girls.

"Caleb! It is so good to see you!" Cornelia exclaimed ecstatically, while the other girls nodded their heads in affirmation.

"We were just about to start looking for you and the rebels when Blunk startled us," Taranee offered as Caleb nodded. But then he noticed a few out of place details.

"Why aren't you in your guardian forms? And where is Will?" Caleb asked curiously. He hoped that Will wasn't hurt to badly from their last encounter when she had first attacked him, the collapsed.

"She ended up in the hospital because she had a stroke." Hay Lin piped up for the group. "So we decided to come without her."

"What's a stroke? Is it related to what happened when you were last here?" Caleb asked curiously.

"It's where there is bleeding in the brain," Taranee answered, her thoughts shifting to that night. "It might be related, but we don't know for sure."

"Alright, we'll just have to be extra careful since you aren't in your Guardian forms," Was Caleb's reply as he gestured for them to follow him. "Let's head to the camp to get started.

They all wandered through the variety of plant life farther and farther away from the portal until the sounds of a camp could be heard. The sound was quite, solemn, and tense all at the same time. It was the sound of people with a black cloud of depression hanging over their heads from the constant danger.

They broke through a row of bushes to find a clearing with tents, people, animals, and subdued children. People came out of their tents to see the new comers and Caleb. Seeing that it was the Guardians a small crowed of people approached Caleb and the girls as they moved towards the center of the clearing where the command tent was.

"Okay, over here everyone," Caleb said to the group gathered about him. He moved to a table that everyone then gathered around. On it was detailed maps and a path marked out in red. Pointing at the red line marked on the map he continued. "This is the trail to the Infinite City. Here, Here, and here are where patrols have been sighted along this path."

Looking to where he pointed, they all could see little blue X's placed along the red line that marked the trail. He then continued, "We will need scouts to make sure that there are no troops near the column as we pass by. If we are seen we will have to incapacitate the guards."

Hay Lin piped up dying to ask a question that she was sure on some of the Guardian's minds. "Why not just choose another area to go to travel to the Infinite City and avoid the guards all together?"

Caleb nodded at her question acknowledging that it was a good one. "The reason why we don't go a different way is because every other route to the infinite city has many more patrols then this route, and also there are obstacles that the wagons can not easily get around."

Before anyone else could ask another question though there was a commotion from one side of a camp as a man ran towards the command tents. Guards appeared around Caleb and the group at the table to protect them just incase this was an attack. But it turned out only to be a messenger from the city around the castle.

"Caleb! I have grave news!" The man yelled, quite out of breath from all his breathing.

"Easy friend, take a seat and have some water." Caleb replied offering the man a cup of water someone had poured from a water skin. The man gulped the water plainly thirsty from his quick paced journey. "Now what is this grave news?"

"The coronation of Elyon will be taking place tomorrow! Phobos has stepped up his plans and the princess is in grave dangerous!" The man shouted nearly choking on the water he was drinking. Cornelia was the first to respond.

"What?! Tomorrow? We need to go help Elyon now!" Was her fevered response to what she had heard.

"I agree! We need to help her now!" Hay Lin agreed nodding her head in agreement with Cornelia.

"But girls, you don't have your guardian forms!" Was Caleb's response to them. "The guards will tear you to pieces because you haven't had any training with sword and shield!"

"But Elyon needs our help! We don't want her to die!" Was Irma's response to Caleb.

"But you won't be able to give her any help if you are all dead!" Caleb snapped. "It's a lose/lose situation if you don't go back to Earth and get Will. Otherwise the fate of meridian will be sealed for all time."

The girls looked at each other and recognized the futility of trying to help Elyon without their Guardian forms. They had been completely defenseless when Blunk had burst through the brush. If he had instead been a guard, they probably would have been killed or captured.

"Alright, we'll go back to Earth and get Will. Then we will come back to save Elyon!" Cornelia stated as the four of them collectively moved back towards the direction whence they had come.

"Take Blunk with you, he will help you find the portal. I will stay here and arrange for a plan to get into the castle for when you return." Caleb said as Blunk rambled forward.

"Blunk find portal! Blunk help girls save Elyon!" Blunk shouted happily as he took up the lead. Looking at themselves before looking back at Blunk, the girls followed him into the plant life that was unique to meridian in every way.

"Take Care!" Cornelia shouted back at Caleb as she disappeared into leaves. Caleb only nodded as he set together a plan to move the rebellion in closer to the castle, and to prepare for the fight that was surely to come.

**A/N: Exciting, Isn't it? Lol so maybe not. Just an FYI, I'm going off the events leading up to the coronation, and all that nice fancy stuff that happened before leading up the coronation happened. I just didn't want to re-write it in here. And I may have modified events on how they actually learn when the coronation is going to take place. I needed it to fit in my story lol. Well review if you will. I'm pretty sure I chopped this one up really bad.**


	9. Friends Turned Enemies

**A/N: Just an FYI, There is a character name in here that is used in one of the Comic Arcs. However, these characters are COMPLETELY Different. Just don't want to confuse you 0o. Anyways, Onwards with the story!**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"Friends Turned Enemies"

Drip. An infinite amount of time passed in between each drop of fluid as it fell. Drip. Long pauses in which life itself seemed to slow down to a complete stand still. Drip. Was continuing on worth it anymore? The hardships? The pain that she had suffered? Drip. Will's eyes shifted to the IV line's accumulator where drops of the fluid, whatever it was, fell to collect and then be feed into her veins. It was steady, almost rhythmic, the dripping of her IV line. It most certainly should of put her to sleep, but blissful dreams were far from the young redhead.

Her life was possibly at a crossroads. Down one road, her mother recovered, Elyon was saved and life ended happily ever after. Down the other road, her Mother was just a finely etched gravestone, one of the millions that would come to pass if Prince Phobos was not stopped. Will desperately wanted to go down the path where her Mother lived and everyone was safe… but it wasn't as easy or simply as wanting. Nothing ever was, or would be. What's more, she was plagued by what had occurred recently.

At first, it was nothing more then missing time. Oh how time now seemed to come back full force and last an eternity between each drop. The throbbing of her head steadily reminded her of that. Then there had been that strange memory, the one of the man who wasn't Caleb. She couldn't even remember what she had done to Caleb. The splitting pain though, it cut through and defined that moment. Unbelievable agonizing pain, pain that Will thought never existed. But she was wrong, It was more then physical pain though.

At first that's all it had been, but awaking from the inky blackness only began the nightmare of when Will first heard about her Mother. Now the pain lanced through her heart, and soul. Terror gripped her in oh so painful ways. Will couldn't really contemplate life without her mother. It just wasn't possible, unspeakable on a level that far surpassed Will's comprehension.

The almost daily fights; constant arguing; it had all lead Will to believe that maybe she was drifting away from her mother. If this was how Will treated her Mother, was she truly the one who should possess the Heart of Kandrakar? Deep down though, Will realized that she had always loved her Mother. She had taken that love for granted, and now… now it seemed that she would pay the ultimate price, the loss of the one person in Will's life that made life bearable, from the math homework to the draining war waged against Phobos. This couldn't be happening.

The sorrow over possibly never seeing her mother again triggered something within Will. A memory of sorrow… and the dripping of an IV line? The light in the room got blindingly bright as everything blurred.

"How is she doing?" a muffled voice asked. The words didn't seem to make sense to Will. All she wanted to do was get some sleep. She was after all lying down. The first thing she noticed was the throbbing of her head. It felt like she had hit it on something. Letting out a slight moan she opened her eyes. There was something over her head and it provided a semi-dark. It looked to be a pillow case with multi-colored strips, and squiggly lines all over it. She tried to take it off her head… but couldn't. Her arms were strapped down it felt like. She tried moving her legs and found them to be stuck too.

"H-hello?" Will asked tentatively. She was afraid of what was going on. Maybe she had been captured by Prince Phobos! The only thing she could remember was leaving school to go home. Everything after that just wouldn't come to mind.

"Ah, I see that you are awake Mrs. Vandom," a voice off to her left replied. "How rude of me to leave that on you."

With a yank, the pillow case was taken off of Will's head to reveal a completely white room. There were bright lights in the ceiling 10 feet above here that caused her to squint. The ceiling it self, looked to have observation windows in it in a circle around where she was strapped down. Looking over to her left she saw the face of a man who appeared to be in his early 30's, with a shaved head and built exterior; a body that looked like he pumped iron every day in a gym. His face was sharp and chiseled, brown eyes with a stare that looked like it could penetrate steel shone brightly at her. He wore a Green t-shirt with army camouflage pants. A green belt with a steel buckle adorned his waist were a cell phone was hanging.

Off to her right were what appeared to be doctors in their surgical gear lathering up, like in ER and some of the medical shows Will's Mom would watch. All around her appeared to be medical equipment, everything from cardiac monitors to scalpels. Questions began to fly through her mind at a million miles an hour. Had she been in an accident and needed surgery? Is that why her head had hurt? But what about the pillow case? Why was it on her head?

The man in the green shirt as if knowing what Will was thinking because of his penetrating gaze got up and walked purposefully towards Will, his gate even and Militaristic in style. "I know you have many questions Will, some of which will be answered soon enough. But first we have to do a little operation. Then you will wake up in your bed back home." The voice from earlier said, issuing from the man that was walking towards her.

"Where am I? Am I going to see my Mom again? Is this just a dream?" Will said rapidly, adrenalin kicking in as fear began to spread across her. Will's answer to if this was real became painfully true as a needle was deftly placed in her right arm by a nurse.

"Yes Will, this is all real. But you won't remember any of it, so just relax." The man said in an attempt at a calming voice. It didn't work though, as Will began to struggle. But whatever was being fed through the needle was beginning to take over.

"Let me see my mom! Noooo! Let me go!" she cried frantically as her world began to fade. Fear and immense sorrow saturated her heart as the world turned black.

The hospital came back into focus as she withdrew from the memory that had so abruptly invaded her mind. It seemed to be a dream, but there was no doubt in Will's mind that it had happened. She felt her left hand touch where the current IV was, as she realized that there was something different about the room.

Sitting at the foot of her bed sat a girl, who looked to be about the same age as Will. She had sandy colored hair with brown freckles that covered her petite face. Green intelligent eyes looked at Will intently. Her clothes were that of a hospital patient, a white tag, similar to Will's was on her right wrist. The child just sat there watching Will, as if waiting for something.

"Ummm, can I help you?" Will asked cautiously. She didn't know who this kid was, or where she had come from. Then again she had been out of it remembering dead memories.

"No, but I can help you," Replied the girl with a distinctly British accent, in a high alto voice. She stood up from the end of the bed and padded closer to Will. "My name's Cassidy, what's yours?"

Will felt it happening again, that inexorable pull towards some forgotten part of her mind, Cassidy's name and face triggering an emotion from some far off place.

"Hi! So where are you from? I just recently moved here from England when they picked me up." The girl said, wearing the same uniform that they all did. Her sandy hair was tied up into a pony tail at the back of her head.

"Umm, I just moved here not too long ago from Fadden Hills." Will replied eyeing the Grey T-shirt, with black shorts that the girl wore. Looking dubiously down at her own uniform, she wondered why they made all the new recruits where them.

"Oh, that's neat. Want to be mates? My name is Cassidy…" The girl said holding out a hand.

"Umm, sure. My name is Will." She replied to the girl that stood before her. Just then, their drill sergeant walked in and barked that everyone should form up.

Adrenalin and realization whipped Will back from the memory just in time to move from what would have been a fatal stab with a needle. Rolling over the edge of the bed, Will landed on her knees and a hand. Noticing she was still tethered to the IV, she quickly pulled it out and dodged towards the front of the bed as Cassidy dove over it at her.

"Wait? What are you doing?" Was all Will could say before Cassidy was on the attack again. Will seemed to miraculously dodge a punch thrown at her. Then Will grabbed Cassidy's foot and flipped the girl as she threw a kick. While on the ground, Cassidy managed trip Will and was on top of her within a matter of seconds. The needle came to bare again as Cassidy tried to drive it into Will's chest. Will struggled to push it away, but the needle was slowly but surely being forced downwards.

In a last ditch effort, Will bucked her self and unsettled Cassidy just enough that she landed off balance on her, allowing Will to grab the needle, turned it around, and stabbed it right into her shoulder. As if by reaction Will pushed the plunger in all the way. Cassidy fell off Will in a yelp of pain, grabbing the needle and yanking it out. Here eyes showed a look of surprise as she looked at the spent syringe.

"You… You got me." Cassidy said, with a look of detachment glazing her face over. "I thought I had you… but I guess I didn't."

"Wait?! What was in that syringe?!" Will cried out in a panic.

"Sodium Pentothal, most commonly used as an anesthesia, and as lethal injection in over 36 states." Cassidy said.

"What?! You tried to kill me!" Will cried in an outrage.

"Yes. It was my mission. You are a security risk to the project. It was my task to find an eliminate you. I have failed both of my missions." Cassidy replied leaning against the cabinet she was near. Her voice seemed to be getting shallow as the overdose of Sodium Pentothal circulated through her bloodstream. "You and your mother were both supposed to die."

"But why? Weren't we friends or something like that?" Will asked, baffled and horrified at what was happening.

"In a past life Will, a life that doesn't exist." Cassidy said half closing her eyes. "A life that is going to haunt you mate until the day you either die, or they are defeated. I'm afraid the former is more likely to happen then the latter."

"What life Cassidy…? I… I can't remember it all, I just have bits and pieces flashing before me." Will asked the girl who was rapidly fading.

"You apparently remembered your hand to hand combat relatively well," Cassidy said, a slight smile coming to her lips. Opening her eyes one last time she spoke in barely a whisper, "Will, seek out Kuang Ao'ning, Petra Egorova, and Jonathan Petersburg. They will have answers to the questions you seek."

For some reason, those names struck a bell and rang clear in Will's mind. No matter that they all seemed to be complex and hard to remember, to Will, it was as if they were all her first name.

Cassidy's head slumped forward slightly as she exhaled her last breath. Will just sat there, motionless at what had happened. Then it hit her, like a train plowing through a car. Will had just killed someone, a person that had at one time apparently been a friend. Tears started to pour forth from her eyes, at the very moment that the door burst open to reveal an alarmed nurse.

"What happened here? Will? What's going on?" She said as she rushed over to Will. As she reached the sobbing Will, the Nurse noticed Cassidy over in the corner, the needle in her hand. Checking Cassidy's pulse, the nurse realized she was dead. Moving to the phone on the wall, she dialed a number and said into the receiver, "Medical assistance to room 203! Medical Assistance!"

Will remained mute, tears of anguish coating her face as the nurse checked her over, and guided her over to the bed. Several other nurses and a Doctor rushed in to see what was going on. Detective Ethan Riley was just a few steps behind them.

"What's going on in here?" Ethan asked the group of people that was crowded in the room.

"Will's vitals spiked and then flat lined moments ago. I rushed in to find her over there in the corner, near the body of a girl, same age." The nurse replied in a calm voice of an experienced Intensive Care Nurse. She had seen many people die and was used to handling patients who vitals would suddenly plummet.

"Body of a girl?" Ethan asked curious, stepping over to the corner, to find a girl who appeared to be the same age as Will. In one hand was an empty syringe, on the other was a tag similar to Will's indicating that the girl was a patient. Or was she?

"Who is this girl? She seems to be a patient here at the hospital." Ethan said pulling out his pen and notepad as his detective instincts kicked in. One of the nurses attending to Will turned around to see who the Detective was talking about. Seeing the white band on the girl's wrist, the male Nurse pulled out a scanner from his pocket used to pull information about patients from the hospital database.

"She isn't one of the patients here. This tag does not match any of the patient records here at the hospital." He replied, intrigued himself.

"Okay, everyone out. This is officially a crime scene." Ethan said standing up and turning around to group around Will's bed.

"Alright, we just need to get a wheelchair for Will. Then we will be out." The doctor replied nodding towards the other female nurse in the room. She quickly left in pursuit of a wheelchair.

"Good. You'll inform me of any further updates with Will?" Ethan asked, his last question for now.

"Yes, you will be one of the first people to know." The doctor replied, moving towards the door with the gait of a man who worked long hours and saw much death and sickness in his life.

Ethan turned away from the nurses who were continuing to check on Will, and surveyed the room. When one entered, there was a bed directly perpendicular to the door. A window was on the other side of the bed facing northward. Several chairs were just located inside the room on the left side of the door. Another chair was in between the bed and the window for a visitor to sit and chat. Medical equipment was on either side of the bed, from heart monitors to IV lines.

At the end of the room at the foot of the bed was a bathroom, counter with sink, and a cabinet with what appeared to be extra bed sheets and other medical utensils like bed pans. The struggle looked to have taken place on the side of the bed next to the window, then moved towards the foot of the bed, culminating in the girl getting killed, near the bathroom and the counter.

The wheelchair was brought in and Will was loaded in just as Ethan got done with his survey of the room. As she was being wheeled out, Ethan could just here Will say, "Her name was Cassidy."

Shaking his head, Detective Ethan truly began to believe what Senator Jonathan Petersburg had told him. The only explanation for "Cassidy" was that she was one of these Innocent Assassins sent to kill Will and probably her mother. This was going downhill fast, and didn't look to be stopping any time soon. He left the room and called CSI to canvas the room while he went about finding the evidence he needed to prove or disprove the Senator.

**A/N: Well, that was a short chapter. I'm thinking that my future chapters that I spit out are going to be short too. It's just the way the plot is playing out. Well, there is some intriguing information revealed in this one. What will the next chapter reveal? Who knows P R & R Please.**


	10. A Secret No More

**A/N: Hooray! I got another chapter out! I feel so damned proud! I've been dreading writing this chapter and the ones to follow. But I'm also very excited too. Anywho, I kept working on this one and working on it and working on it. So much to it, and funnily enough I didn't intend it to be as long as it turned out to be. I added content, and well, one thing lead to another and I ended up with what you see here! One thing that I'd like to request of you, is while you read, please note any irregularities you notice in this chapter against the rest of the story. I'm trying to make them flow into one another so your feed back would be appreciated. Anyways… Enjoy!**

W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"A Secret No More"

"The time has come. We must move forward with this project! Despite the recent failure to eliminate Will Vandom and her mother, this project has worked flawlessly. 162 missions completed successfully by project members is more then enough evidence that this project _is_ ready for phase two." One of the twelve said emphasizing with his hands towards the current slide up on the projector screen. His face was hidden in the shadows cast by a dim light focused on the conference table. This added to the affect of screening him and those around the table.

"Are we so certain? The project is surely in jeopardy as long as Will Vandom continues to walk around with old programming and memories floating around in her head. She certainly has proven resilient to elimination as shown with the recent failure of Cassidy." Another member asked, a female voice issuing from her shadow. "If Will remembers any of the…"

"But she will not, nor will her mother! Susan Vandom is in a confirmed comatose state with no chance of ever remembering the incident. On top of that the partitioning of Will's mind will leave nothing for her to remember." Another member interjected vehemently as he leaned forward, his face nearly entering the circle of light that covered the table.

"But her kill-switch went off and she survived? How are we to know the programming and dead memories were erased reliably?" The female asked of the other 10 stationed around the conference table. The spot next to her was empty, the seat of Jonathan Petersburg. Leaning forward into the light, the member revealed a fair face with graying hair. Brown eyes were highlighted by a few wrinkles on her face showing her age. Her voice while feminine commanded respect and showed no signs of age apparent on her physique. "She could remember details about the project and Majestic Twelve that could ruin everything we have worked for!"

A gravely voice at the end of the conference table issued forth addressing the woman herself, "You would do well not to reveal yourself so outright to us Petra, especially with new members present." A dim orange could be seen from the cigarette he smoked. This man was one of the eldest of the Twelve, and one of the most powerful too. Petra upon hearing him settled back into the shadows.

"Forgive me, but some of us have high stakes in this project. As such information has made its way down to project members and such that reveals some of our… identities." Petra continued.

"If I recall correctly Petra, you were one of the few who choose to freely associate with the children. As such it will only be you who is affected by Mrs. Vandom and her child." The gravely voice replied with utmost calm and menace in his voice.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about. The research has shown that there are no memories left over after a wipe initiated by the programming. Remember, the Kill-switch was only a secondary pre-caution put in place to prevent anything that we might not have caught. Ten out of ten times there were no memories left." Another member added, reminding them all of the research done by the Yumari Corporation.

The Yumari Corporation was owned by the man who had just spoken. It was his scientists that had discovered the technology that allowed the brainwashing of children. Furthermore, he himself had worked closely with the children. If he wasn't showing signs of being worried, maybe she was safe. But Petra had learned that lesson long ago. Relying on someone else nearly always failed when it came to matters such as this.

"Enough of this! The child is nothing to be concerned about. The disturbing evidence suggesting that a member of the police department may have information concerning Majestic 12 and project IA are more worrisome then a child who by all rights is dead. Detective Ethan poses a far greater threat then a mere child ever could!" Urged a member who rarely spoke at these meetings. "If information about our existence moves from the realm of rumor and myth to concrete evidence, our objective of global domination will never see the light!"

However, Petra disagreed with this. Being one of the few who actually interacted with the children, she knew what they were capable of. Even if Will had lost her memories of the events that transpired in the lost hours of her life, the reflexes were ingrained into her very being. Old habits and skills might start to re-emerge from the intangible puddle of ruined memories that were left after an erasure was triggered. And seeing as how Will Vandom was top of her class, that only made it that much more troubling to leave her running about.

None the less, the member who had just spoken was correct. A police detective with concrete evidence on Majestic 12 and its history was a far more pressing issue then Will Vandom and the botched attempt on her mother's life.

"He will be a problem no longer. Jonas will take care of him promptly and ensure that nothing gets to the authorities." The elder man of Majestic said, puffing on his cigarette.

"Oh, just like he took care of Susan and Will Vandom I suppose?" A member on Petra's left asked sarcastically. "He failed that attempt. What makes you think he won't fail this one?"

"He will do his job. He knows what's at stake if he should fail this task. But enough of this; the children can take care of whatever is leftover after Jonas is done." The elder member said ending that little dispute. "Does anyone have anything to add before we adjourn this meeting?"

"Nothing, other then the fact that we've seen an increase in profit across several of our investments, most notably the weapons division." A man who had been presenting the meeting said informing the others of the success of other ongoing projects.

"The Twelfth member would like to impress upon everyone how pleased he is with project Innocent Assassins. He would also like everyone to know that because of some upcoming events he might possibly pay Majestic 12 a visit…" the Twelfth Member's lackey said, a stillness falling upon the other 10. This was an unprecedented move. The one responsible for pushing the Innocent Assassins project through was coming to see Majestic 12. With this comment spoken, the lackey stood up and began to leave the room. Before he could leave though, the elder member spoke.

"Inform him that we ourselves will be pleased to finally meet the man who helped mastermind a crucial part in our plans." His voice carrying the distance to lackey before he pulled on his cigarette.

"You will. You most defiantly will." The Lackey said before exiting the room.

"Hmmmm. I suppose that draws a conclusion to this meeting. There will be another meeting in 2 weeks time. The meeting location will be disclosed 1 night before as always. Good day." And with that the elder member stood up and left the room. One by one they all filed out of the room under deep thought about what had just occurred.

Petra was one of the last to leave. She always was. Possibly it was because she was a single woman among men. Maybe it was because the others did not trust her. Whatever the case, she left last, and came first. As she walked into the crisp night air, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. If the Twelfth member was coming to pay them a visit, this could mean changes. Big changes; changes that could possibly ruin Petra's own plans.

Shrugging, she stepped into the back of the black limo that had pulled up. There was nothing she could do now except wait. Petra didn't even look back as the limo drove away from the factory where the meeting had taken place. Bright spot lights highlighted a sign at the front gate with what looked like a colorful molecule on it, and words printed in bold black letters: "Yumari Corp. Building Innovative technologies one molecule at a time."

Ω

The walk from the portal to Heatherfield Park hadn't been that long. But it was the waiting for a ride that had seemed like an eternity to Cornelia. She so desperately wanted to help her friend, but the fact of the matter was that they needed Will to be of any help at all. Every passing moment seemed like an eternity to the tall blond who had taken up to pacing instead of just standing. Then again it felt like they were in a cloud as a fog had rolled into town. Pacing was a better alternative to standing still and being cold.

"When your done pacing your way through the earth to China, let me know okay?" Irma said trying to lighten Cornelia's mood. It didn't work though.

"I'm just nervous, okay? I don't need any of your foolery right now Irma," Cornelia replied continuing her pacing.

"It's going to be alright Cornelia! We'll get Will and be back to Meridian in no time." Hay Lin said trying to comfort Cornelia. "Irma's just trying to take your mind off of it."

"But I don't want to take my mind off of Elyon! We've been best friends forever! I can't just abandon her to that madman Phobos!" Cornelia said nearly shouting. The strain of having someone she loved in the line of danger clearly showed on her face and in her pacing. At last though, Taranee's brother showed up in his car to give them all a ride to Christina Memorial Hospital where Will and her mother were.

"Hey Peter! Thanks for giving us a ride! This really means a lot to us." Taranee said in welcoming as the car pulled up. "Come on guys, let's go see Will."

"Yea, No problem Sis, anything to help out." Peter said warmly flashing one of his prize winning smiles. Cornelia disliked ridding in the same car with Peter simply because she was attracted to him. This confused her greatly as she always felt that she should be in love with Caleb. Although she disliked ridding in the same car as Peter, her concern for Elyon ruled any objections out.

"We're probably going to need a ride back to the park after we are done visiting with Will. Is that alright with you Peter?" Taranee asked as they all settled into the car and made there way across town to the hospital.

"Yea, no problem Taranee. Just let me know how long I should wait. I have some errands I need to run for mom." Peter replied.

"Oh, it shouldn't be too long Peter. Thanks for giving us a ride!" Hay Lin piped in.

"Yea, thanks Peter. This means a lot to us," Irma chimed in right after Hay Lin. All Cornelia could manage was a mumble that sort of sounded like, "Thank you…"

"You doing alright Cornelia? You don't look too well." Peter asked with concern in his voice.

"Uh, yea. She's just really sad about Will and her mom, you know?" Irma said covering for Cornelia. Cornelia was just glad that Irma had responded for her. Whether it was because Irma thought she was sad about Elyon or something else, Cornelia didn't care.

Soon the car pulled up to the hospital and the girls got out and made there way to the entrance, not of course before Peter informed them that he would be back in fifteen to twenty minutes.

"Alright! Thanks again Peter!" Taranee said giving him a short wave as he drove off. Walking over to the front desk they signed in as visitors for Will and walked to her room. Much to their surprise though there was yellow Police tape across the door barring entry and emboldened with the words "DO NOT CROSS".

"Uh, where's Will?" Irma asked out loud the question that all of the girls were thinking. "And what happened?"

"Well, your friend was moved to a new room after an incident this morning. I'll take you to go see her." A familiar voice from behind them said. Startled, they turned around to see a woman with black pants and a white blouse standing before them. Her emerald green eyes appraised the group as she moved a stray blond hair behind her eyes and out of her face.

"Detective Talia!" Hay Lin exclaimed, her voice reflecting the surprise of the other three girls.

Questions like "What are you doing here?" and "What happened?" peppered Talia as she moved through the hallways of Christina Memorial towards Will's new room. She kept her answers simple and to the point. She was there to see how Will and Mrs. Vandom were doing. She informed them that the incident that morning had been an attempt on Will's life. She wouldn't go into detail about what had happened. Thankfully for Talia, the questions ended as they arrived at Will's room. An officer was stationed outside and nodded Talia and the girls through the door.

"Will!" Taranee said running up to her. Will looked surprised as well as relived to see her friends. She looked much better then the day before when the girls had visited her. This was of course the first time though the other girls besides Taranee had seen her awake. They all crowded around Will's bed glad to see her awake.

"Hey guys… I'm glade you are here. I've missed you." Will said in greeting to them as they each gave her a hug. "It's been kind of lonely without you."

"I'll leave you five alone for now. I'll be back in 15 minutes." Detective Talia said to the group of girls. Will of course had not met Detective Talia yet and raised an eyebrow in query at Taranee.

_She was one of the Detectives that was at your apartment when we got there,_ Taranee told Will through her telepathic link. _We'll explain in a minute when we have more privacy._

_Oh…_ Was all Will could think back as she looked at Talia. "Okay… See you in fifteen then…"

Giving a short nod, Talia exited the room in search of a cup of coffee before she returned to check on the girls. As soon as the door snapped shut a hail of questions assaulted Will on what had happened that morning.

"We went to your room but you weren't there!" Hay Lin started.

"There was yellow police tape across the door! And Detective Talia said there had been an incident!" Irma continued, concern coloring her voice.

"We asked her what had happened but all she would say was that there was an attempt on your life. So what happened?" Taranee asked of her friend and fellow Guardian.

"Wait, wait, hold up. You are all going too fast…" Will said in a fatigued voice. The rest of the guardians then could see in Will what had first been hidden. There was a certain hollowness about her. It looked as if Will had seen a ghost.

"We're sorry Will. We are all just so worried about you," Cornelia said apologizing for the whole group. Pulling up a chair, she asked, "So… what happened?"

Will nodded her head at Cornelia's question. "Well, I guess it started when I started having these flashbacks, but not normal flashbacks. They were very strange, memories of stuff I have never done before."

"Like what?" Taranee asked curious about what Will was talking about.

"I don't know… Like shooting a rifle! And talking with other girls and boys like I knew them… But I've never seen them before." Will said shaking her head. It was confusing, trying to sort out what was reality and what was possibly delirium brought upon by her stroke.

"Dreams you mean?" Hay Lin asked. That was the only thing the chirpy artistic girl could come up with.

"No, no… Nothing like dreams. It had to of been real. And I'm pretty certain their real." Will said trying to explain how it felt. "These feel like… I don't know… dead memories."

The term had just popped into her head, as if she knew had heard it before. But Will couldn't clearly recall having ever heard it before.

"Dead memories? What? Did someone come kill your memories or something?" Irma said jokingly. But Will only frowned.

"I… I'm not sure. The term just seemed right. These dreams, visions, memories… whatever they are. I feel like I've done the stuff in them. I think this is where all my missing time went." Will said reaching for an answer to all the questions that plagued her.

"How do you know they are real though? I mean they might seem just like really vivid dreams," Hay Lin asked offering an explanation.

"I know they are real dreams because one of the people from these dreams paid me a visit this morning," Will replied mournfully. That was all she had been thinking about until the girls had come, was what had happened.

"You mean in person? Here in this hospital?" Cornelia asked intrigued.

"Yes! I kind of was daydreaming when I realized she was at the foot of my bed. Then I had one of them crazy flashbacks and saw her in it! The next thing I know I'm fighting for my life with Cassidy trying to kill me!" Will cried out, the memory of the event flooding her right then. "I… I killed her! I didn't mean to… I was just… defending myself."

Taranee put a comforting arm around Will. "Its okay Will, we are here with you now. So you're saying you saw her in one of these flashbacks?"

"Yes… and her name was Cassidy. We both were in some… I don't know… program. All I know is I remember her and the next thing I know I'm being attacked by her." Will said putting her face in her hands. It all didn't make sense. What was going on?

A slight shudder took hold of Will has she reconciled with that moment. She needed to think of something else, and remembering Taranee's promise Will took a deep breath and asked, "So… you were going to tell me about… Detective Talia?"

"Uh, yea, Talia. After you collapsed in Metamoor we brought you back through the portal. Then we carried you to your apartment where we found a bunch of police and your Mom being loaded into an ambulance." Irma said helping to change the topic away from the painful memories that plagued Will's mind, though the current topic was still painful if not most recent.

"We had no idea what was happening. Irma's dad saw us and was the one who called an ambulance for you. Then he called over these two detectives. Ethan and Talia… both of them came over and questioned us about where we had been and what had happened to you. We threw together a cover story that we all had been at Hay Lin's when you collapsed. I don't think that it's going to last for long though…" Taranee continued, her voice trailing off.

"Ethan? I think I met him earlier when Cassidy attacked me. He asked me a few questions but nothing about where I had been. I guess he needed to go somewhere." Will replied shrugging. "But it's good that we got our cover story together. I would hate for anyone to figure out about our powers."

"Yea, no kidding," Hay Lin added in her bouncy voice.

"But… there is something else we need to discuss before Detective Talia comes back," Cornelia said looking nervously at the door then back to Will.

"Yea? What?" Will asked, realizing this visit by the girls was more then purely pleasure.

"Well, Elyon needs our help. Phobos announced the Coronation for tomorrow and we need to be there to protect Elyon just incase anything happens!" Cornelia announced with the full force of the fear in her voice. Her best friend's life was at stake, she was going back to help with or without Will.

"Seriously? Tomorrow?" Will said shock covering her voice. Phobos had defiantly decided now was the time to step up his plans. Possibly he was counting on something. What, Will didn't know.

"Yes, but because of the way time works in Meridian compared to here, tomorrow will be today in no time!" Taranee said reminding them all about when Taranee had been captured by Elyon and Cedric.

"But… I don't know if the doctors are just going to let me leave…" Will said reminding them that she was under the watchful eye of trained physicians and nurses 24/7.

"What about an Astral Drop?" Hay Lin suggested. "We could sneak her out of the hospital and leave it behind?"

"I don't know if that is such a good idea. Will's Astral Drop seems to be quit forgetful and absent minded." Irma said reminding them of Will's past failed attempts at something with which the other guardians had no problems with.

"Well, Will has sustained a serious head injury. I don't think the hospital personal would be exactly surprised if Will forgot anything." Taranee said pointing to the bandage that was wrapped around Will's head.

"Hmm, Good point. Maybe I should get a head injury myself as an excuse for history class," Irma said jokingly in reference to hating the pop quizzes their teacher liked pulling on the kids.

"I really don't think you need that Irma with your ability to control what the teacher asks," Hay Lin said wrinkling her nose. Will just shook her head smiling at her friends. It never seemed to fail that they could bring a smile to her face. Cornelia though brought the reality of the situation home to everyone before more of the joking could continue.

"Girls! Elyon's life possibly hangs in the balance and you're joke about history class? C'mon!" Cornelia said, her voice like a razor cutting deftly through everyone's bubbles. "So what do you say Will? Come help us save Elyon?"

But before Will had a chance to answer Cornelia there was a nock on the door and a nurse walked in. Will recognized her as Jennifer McGee. She apparently was the primary care nurse assigned to Will. She was the one who usually came and checked in on Will every hour or so and wrote whatever it was nurses wrote, on Will's Chart.

"Good afternoon Will! I see you have some visitors today," She said bustling over to the foot of Will's bed and grabbing the chart that hung there. "Dr. Ryan will be in to see you today Will. With your remarkable recovery you might possibly be released today."

This of course earned Will a glance from all the guardians around her. If she was going to be released, there would be no need about worrying to make an astral drop to leave behind and no need to sneak Will out either.

"112 over 72, good, good," Nurse Jenifer commented as she took Will's blood pressure. Then she checked Will's IV and the bandages covering her head. "You are such a robust little girl. Your recovery is remarkable considering what you went through."

"Oh, uh thanks," was all Will could think of to say. Will didn't know if it was the Heart of Kandrakar or something else that had kept her alive. The same thought happened to be running through the other 4 girls.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be finished in a minute," Jenifer said to the quite that had overcome the room when she had stepped in. But the silence persisted as the girls didn't really know what to say, and seeing as it was best for not anyone to know about their secret, discussion about meridian wasn't about to happen.

As Jenifer finished her hourly check of Will's vitals, Detective Talia stepped into the room. She watched silently as the girls tried to make small talk about whatever they could think of.

"So, uh, Cornelia… How is your little sister?" Will asked trying to break the silence that had ensued.

"Oh, Lillian? She's doing fine… you know being the little pest that she is." Cornelia replied trying to carry on the small talk. Irma of course helped pick up the pace.

"Ah, just like you Corny?" Irma's humor clearly showing in her voice.

"I am nothing like the little brat and don't call me Corny! My name is Cornelia!" Cornelia replied anger coloring her alto voice. The ensuing flurry of conversation of course covered the awkward silence that had started when Nurse Jenifer had entered the room.

Nurse Jenifer finished taking Will's vitals and walked by Detective Talia, whispering in her ear, "I didn't hear anything other then girl talk. Dr. Ryan will be by shortly to decide if Will is well enough to go home."

"Home? What home? Her only caretaker is in a room not too far from here in a comatose state." Talia replied reminding the nurse of Will's situation.

"Maybe one of her friends will take her in. But if the hospital decides to release her she is no longer under our care." The nurse said shaking her head sadly before exiting the room. Talia watched the door shut before turning to the group of girls that had quieted down during the little conversation she had with the nurse.

"Seeing as you are recovered Will, I have a few questions for you and your friends while we wait for Dr. Ryan to show up." Detective Talia announced to the girls and Will. "As you might have heard, Dr. Ryan is coming by to see if you are fit to be released from the hospital. While this is a small success we are presented with the problem of finding a place for you to live."

The girls listened intently as Talia laid out the problem for them. However Hay Lin had used her power over air to listen to the conversation between Talia and Nurse Jenifer. She had relayed what she had heard to the other girls via telepathic link and they all had decided on what to do.

_I mean, that is a valid point. Where is Will going to stay while her mom is in the hospital. I don't think the police are just going to let her live at home._ Irma said to the group via telepathic link.

_Well, as the nurse suggested she could live at one of our places. I'm sure our parents won't mind if Will stays for awhile._ Hay Lin said re-iterating what the nurse said.

_Would you mind if I stayed at your house for a while Taranee? I mean if it isn't too much?_ Will asked her best friend.

_Yea, you could sleep in my room. It won't be a problem at all._ Taranee replied. With that matter settled they finished what little small talk they had made and listened to Talia.

"One of the choices presented to us is having Will stay at one of you young ladies house. Of course if no one takes Will in, she will have to be put up for foster care provided by the state." Detective Talia finished.

"Well, Will can stay at my house. My parents won't mind." Taranee said telling Detective Talia what the girls had come to a conclusion of earlier.

"Are you sure? I'll need to speak with your mother first… What is it…? Tarny?" Detective Talia asked, unsure of Taranee's name.

"Taranee Cook. My mom's a judge here in Heatherfield." Taranee replied correcting Talia.

"Right. Judge Cook. I've met her before. Very well, I'll make sure that matter is settled." Talia commented. "But now, I have some other questions that I need to ask of you all."

_Uh oh… do you think we're going to get grilled big time now?_ Hay Lin asked of the others over the telepathic link.

_I don't know. What do you think Irma? Your dad is a cop isn't he?_ Cornelia asked Irma.

_Yea, but that doesn't mean I know anything about what is going to be asked,"_ Irma replied pointedly.

_Let's just listen to what Detective Talia has to ask before we freak out. And we can collaborate on answers before hand._ Will said to the others so they would listen in on the question that Talia was posing them.

"Will in particular, do you know of anyone who would want to harm your mother?" Talia asked Will and the girls.

"No, I can't think of any one who would want to harm my mom or I." Will replied after thinking about it for a moment of two.

"Are you sure? Maybe someone holding a grudge against your mother and you? Maybe a co-worker?" Talia asked again, trying to probe further then Will's previous answer.

"The only person I can think of having a grudge is my Dad because of the divorce. But he's far away and I don't think he would do anything to harm mom or I." Will replied taking the matter into deeper consideration. "Mom also didn't talk much about work either, so if someone at work did have a grudge against her I wouldn't know."

"I don't think anyone in Heatherfield has a grudge against Will and her mom. They are fairly new here." Cornelia said to Detective Talia. "And it being a small town, I'm sure one of us would have heard something."

"Did anyone hear anything?" Talia asked of the other girls, all who shook their heads no.

"Okay, Thanks Girls. Just to clarify some other matters, how often were you away from your mom with your friends Will?" Detective Talia asked, now pointedly looking for an answer from just Will.

"Well, probably most weekends and sometimes after school when we wanted to get together," Will replied. Detective Talia was about to continue with the questioning when there was a knock on the door and a man with coal black hair and hazel colored eyes walked in. He was wearing the white coat of a doctor and his name badge read "Dr. Ryan Nelson M.D."

"Hello, Hello! My name is Dr. Ryan and I am the doctor assigned to you for the moment Mrs. Vandom." He greeted Will. His voice was a deep baritone colored by the energy he exuded.

"What happened to Dr. Lipinski?" Will asked, realizing that this man wasn't the same doctor that she had talked to when she first came to in the hospital.

"Ah, well he has some uh… sensitive matters to attend to at the moment. Besides he covers patients that after major operations until they recover or stabilize. Seeing as your well on your way to recovery he passed you onto me. I work closely with him so there shouldn't be a problem. If you would instead like him to work with you, that's perfectly understandable. It'll just take longer then usual." Dr. Ryan replied, answering Will's initial question, but raising other questions about the "sensitive matters" he had described.

Talia on the other hand knew exactly what matters Lipinski was dealing with. His primary patient at the moment was Petersburg and his recovery. Seeing as how Will recovered the way she did, which in itself was remarkable, didn't require as much as the Senator who, even though he had lived, was far from being in perfect condition.

"No, no… you're fine. Just was curious," Will replied as she watched Dr. Ryan move over to pick up her chart.

"Excuse me girls," he said flashing them a smile. Grabbing the chart and looking it over, he nodded his head saying "Mmmmhmmm. Hmmm."

"Those are good Mmmm's right?" Irma asked Dr. Ryan as he continued to study the chart.

"Yes, yes indeed. Very good mmm's. Will, I have no problem with releasing you from the hospital. It's been a couple days since the surgery yet your recovery is remarkable. Very unusual in fact, but other then my utter curiosity I see no reason to keep you hear. You may of course stay if you want to… but I see no need for it." Dr. Ryan told Will and her friends. "If you'll excuse us for a moment, I need to give Will her final checkup before I make a final decision."

Will's friends and Detective Talia all stood up and headed for the door. Talia lagged behind and was the last one out of the door before closing it for Will's privacy.

Dr. Ryan began to perform a standard check over, looking at Will's bandages, taking her pulse, and other actions doctors do to ensure their patients are well.

"Now Will, if I do decide to release you, it will be under certain conditions that you must follow rigorously. Otherwise, you could be endangering your life." Dr Ryan said with an overt serious tone to his voice.

"Okay, I can do that. What are the conditions I need to follow?" Will asked, knowing full well that she probably would be soon ignoring them as she went to Meridian to help Elyon.

"Well, first and foremost you need to avoid strenuous and physical activity. You do not have your strength back and testing your limits now could result in you ending back up in our care." Dr. Ryan said laying down the one that Will figured he would. "Secondly, your bandages need to be changed every day. Clean bandages will go a long way to ensuring an infection does not happen."

"Easily done, I suppose. Seeing as how I won't have much else to do besides homework and sleep, no matter how much that plagues me." Will replied. She defiantly was going to be breaking condition number one.

"Now, lastly, I need you to come in once a week for the time being to check you over and to make sure that you make a complete and full recovery." Dr. Ryan said laying down his final condition.

"Easily do-able," replied Will turning her head so Dr. Ryan could look in first her left, then right ear.

"Alright, that'll do it," Dr. Ryan said smiling as he finished his check-over of Will. "I'm perfectly fine with letting you go. I'll get the paperwork in motion to have you released within the hour."

"Alright, thanks Dr. Ryan!" Will said cheerily despite the cloud that hung over her. While Will was getting checked over by Dr. Ryan, the guardians had stayed out in the hall discussing Will's recovery. Of course in-depth conversation was out of the question seeing as there was an officer just outside the door too with in earshot. Detective Talia herself had gone to make a phone call to Taranee's mom to make sure it was 100 okay with her if Will came and stayed with them for awhile.

Returning to the room, the guardians resumed their seats around Will's bed and the conversation they had been having. Will filled them in on what Dr. Ryan had told her.

"So, you want to come to Meridian with us and help save Elyon?" Cornelia asked, her mind always keeping her friend in the back of her head.

"Yes, I will come with you all. I may not have known Elyon that well, but she needs my help, our help. But… there is one thing I need to do first." Will said to her fellow guardians and friends.

Ω

Sunlight streamed into the room augmenting the artificial light that the ceiling lights provided. It landed on the clean white linens of a bed where Susan Vandom lay. Her arms were resting to either side of her on top of the thin sheet that covered the rest of her body. She wore the standard full body length hospital gown. There were several ugly bruises that covered her face and arms. Her raven hair was bunched around her head where a bandage similar to the one on Will was placed. An IV fed her nutrients while a heart monitor kept track of her pulse and vitals with a steady beep.

Despite the bruises and scratches that covered her, Susan by all means appeared asleep, waiting to be awoken by either the alarm clock she kept at her bedside or by the sun of an early morning rise. In a sense she was asleep. Ever since police found her bloody and broken body in her own room in the apartment she shared with Will, Susan had been in a comatose state with no sign of ever waking.

After the nurse prepped Will for release, she had guided her to her mother's room. Similarly like Will's room, there was a police officer stationed there keeping steady watch. Will asked her friends if she could go in alone and now she stood by her mother's bed.

"I'm… Sorry mom. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you," Will said softly, tears threatening to take over. Pulling up a chair she took her Mom's hand and held it. "I know I didn't say it often enough… but I love you Mom. I really do."

Susan of course didn't reply. Her eyes didn't open up and a smile lit upon her face. No, she remained looking asleep. Of course this amounted to too great of a burden on Will. The attack on her that morning, finding out about Elyon's coronation being moved up, and now this, it added up to a burden of pain that was to great for Will to hold, and she started to cry.

"I'm sorry Mom I'm so sorry. I should have been there Mom I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me Mom!" Will begged through her tears, but to no avail. After crying for awhile, Will didn't know how long, she got up and wiped the tears from her eyes on the clothes she had been given by Taranee. Her old ones had been ruined as the paramedics worked on her, so Taranee had called her brother and asked him to pick up some clothes from their house for Will. Bending over the bed, Will kissed her Mom on the cheek before uttering a silent "good bye."

Returning to the door, she took one last long look at her mom before stepping through to the other side where her friends waited patiently. They could clearly see that she had been crying. Each in turn gave her a hug of re-assurance that everything was going to be alright.

"Are you going to be alright?" Hay Lin asked concerned as her friend and leader took the offered hug gladly.

"I don't know Hay Lin… I really don't know." Will replied, feeling physically exhausted. "Let's go everyone. I think I'm getting sick of being in this hospital."

"And I always thought they were supposed to help you get better," Irma said jokingly. Will gave a weak smile at Irma's humor and started walking. Will gave one last look towards her mother's room before turning the corner. Peter met them outside at the entrance to Christina Memorial and led them over to his car in the crisp fall air. The sun had started to settle over the horizon preparing to hide its face from that side of the world for the night.

"It's going to be a tight squeeze, but I think we can do it." Peter replied as Taranee, Cornelia, and Irma shared the back seats, and Will and Hay Lin shared the front. "We all settled in then?"

And like that they were off. Of course the girls wanted to head back to Meridian, so the next logical step was to have Peter drop them off at Heatherfield Park.

"Yea, if you drop us off there, Will can get some fresh air and then we'll have our own rides pick us up instead of you driving us all around Peter," Cornelia gave as an explanation for why they wanted to go the park.

"Alright, that's doable. You still going to need a ride sis?" Peter asked Taranee.

"Uh, no. But thanks though. We'll catch a ride with Cornelia since it won't be too out of the way for her parents." Taranee replied thinking of how they would handle that situation.

"Yea, we'll get Taranee and Will home safe and sound," Cornelia replied vouching for their ride.

"Alright, that works for me!" Peter said cheerily. "Have a great walk girls!"

With that he pulled into the parking lot and let the girls get out. Waving, he drove off in the direction of home in pursuit of whatever it was he wanted to do.

"Alrighty then, I suppose it's time to head back to Meridian," Cornelia said as they watched Peter drive away.

"Yep, defiantly. Let's get going, it's getting late and I don't want to find that portal again in the dark." Replied Irma, heading off in the direction of the portal whence they came.

"Seriously, and it'll be probably safer for our astral drops in the long run." Hay Lin commented. "Besides it get's pretty cold at night, and I don't want to be walking in that cold. It's tolerable right now."

"Yea… Let's go." Will said capping it all off. The 5 guardians headed off through the park following the path that meandered its way through out the park. Unbeknownst to them, someone followed silently in their tracks slipping from shadow to shadow.

Soon they came to the back alley way that the portal had opened at. Stopping, they stared at the swirling blue portal that transported them across the veil into the foreign world of Meridian.

"Well, I guess now is a time as good as any to return this to you Will," Taranee replied taking out and holding the Heart of Kandrakar. "I've been keeping it safe for you."

Will joyfully took the Heart and held it close welcoming the warmth it emanated. Then she said, "First things first, we need to make astral drops to cover for us while we are gone."

"Agreed," Cornelia replied, and each guardian made their astral drops. Most notable though was Will's, for it reflected the deep change within Will herself. It no longer didn't know its name and seemed to remember the sorrow Will felt.

Sending the astral drop look-a-likes off to warm homes and welcoming arms, Will then transformed the group into their guardian forms.

"Guardians Unite!" the familiar phrase rang out in the cool air. Tear like drops flew from the Heart of Kandrakar to envelope each girl in bubbles of their color representing the powers they possessed: blue for Hay Lin and her power over air, green for Cornelia and her power over earth, orange for Taranee and her power over fire, teal for Irma and her power over water, and pink for Will and her power over quintessence.

The warmth of being transformed stopped the cold that had crept upon the guardians. Wings sprouted from all of their backs and new clothes replaced the old ones they had been wearing. Physically they matured into taller curvier women. Will also felt the fatigue from earlier fade from her body; the magical properties of the Heart coming to the rescue. Transformations complete, the girls we're ready to step through the awaiting portal when a bottle smashed behind them, inevitably drawing their attention. Turning around they found their worst nightmare come true. Crouched before them trying to hide behind a dumpster was Detective Talia.

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**A/N: Muahahahahahahahahaha! \continues to cackle uncontrollably/ I was going to add more to the end but I love this cliffy right here! I'm so evil \Cackles some more/. With all the content that I added to this chapter (really, I summarized this chapter in 2 paragraphs) I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Well, anyways, Please read and review! Don't forget, note any irregularities!**


	11. A New Ally

**A/N: Another one bites the dust! Another one gone! Another one gone! Another chapter bites the dust! Yes, that is correct! Here is the next chapter in the series, and an answer to that cliffhanger I left everyone with last chapter. It took me awhile, but I finally got it done. I've recently come into some spare time to do my writing again, so hopefully the following chapters should come out sooner. **

**A big thanks goes out to all the fans of this FanFic. Shout outs to : Pusca, Draco Maxima, GlitterP, DragonmasterYO, Water Runs Deep, Taeniaea, Draco10 and Midnight Librarian for leaving reviews. An even Bigger Shoutout goes to XV-Dragon for reviewing all my work, even though I feed it in pieces every 12 months it seems. Last, but not least, A big Thank you goes out to Sokai for inspiring me to become a more active, better writer. And to all those who have read my story and chosen not to leave a review, I hope you do in the future cause it's those who read my work that help me to continue writing. Enjoy everybody!**

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This chapter was posted in Febuary 2009

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W.I.T.C.H.: Dead Memories

"A New Ally"

Beyond time and space at the heart of infinity resides Kandrakar in a great void. All that is, started here; and all that is, will come to an end here. Alpha and Omega, Yin and Yang; equilibrium and chaos at its heart. Interconnectivity between worlds and realities as well as barriers between them. This is Kandrakar, home for those whose job it is to maintain an ever watchful eye on the worlds only a breadths hair away from each other yet separated by an infinity.

At the center of Kandrakar lies the Temple of the Congregation where the Council of Kandrakar keeps a watchful eye over all of existence. There within the temple is a mile high shaft with a blissful pond. Residing at it's center is the Oracle. Immense power and wisdom are at his disposal. His mandate, to watch over all that occurs as the head of the council. His most faithful friend and advisor, Tibor, approaches him now.

"Oracle, someone has found out about the Guardians. This could potentially interfere with their duties and bring harm to them!" Tibor informed the Oracle who floated a couple of feet above the pond meditating. He ran his hand agitatedly through the long gray beard that covered most of his face.

"Indeed Tibor. Their identities have been revealed to someone with possible harmful intent. However, do you not trust the Guardians to resolve this situation like Luba?" The Oracle asked of Tibor, remaining in the same position he maintained while meditating.

"Well, no Oracle. I trust them as you trust them. But if their secret were to get out?" Tibor continued, worry tinting his voice.

"I would not let this matter interfere with the Guardians primary duty. Why don't we watch the girls as they handle this situation themselves?" The Oracle asked of Tibor opening his eyes and peering at his friend. "After all, they are the ones that I bestowed the title of Guardianship upon. I would not have done so if I had not believed them capable of completing the task at hand."

"As you wish Oracle." Tibor replied watching dutifully as the emerald screen the Oracle used for such purposes as this one materialized before them with a wave of the Oracle's hand. The scene that was about to unfold became visible on its surface for those who watched over all.

Ω

Hands, numb with cold, fumbled to catch the emerald green beer bottle as it tumbled slowly end over end, towards the ground. What came next was both expected and surprising. Smashing into a hundred little pieces, the bottle made a deafening crashing sound, as if alarms and big signs pointing at Detective Talia screamed "I'm here!". Either frozen by fear, shock, surprise, or all of them, Talia remained crouched behind the dumpster semi-concealed from their sight.

Just as she feared, they all turned around as one and looked at the spot where the crash had come from. Surprise colored all of their faces as well as shock. Silence louder then a bomb going off was broken by a light whisper from one of the girls.

"Detective Talia?" Hay Lin asked as if not believing her eyes. The decision was made. Panic consumed Talia as she turned around and started to run. Fear and disbelief ran circles in her mind as she tried to make sense of it all. First there had been the clones of the girls appearing out of thin air… then… then this! Transforming into some sort of fairy? Bird? It didn't make sense. Not one bit at all.

Even as cries of the girls pleading for her to stop followed her, Talia ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The familiar routine of her morning jogs fell into place. Breath in. Left, right, left, right. Breath out. Left, right, left, right. Looking over her shoulders, she couldn't see the girls anymore. Or whatever they were. It didn't matter. Detective Talia kept running for some time until she felt exhaustion overcome her.

Slowing down, she put her arms above her head and continued to walk. The moon had come up and was providing ample enough light too look about. She had made it into one of the nicer neighborhoods, with neatly trimmed lawns and manicured gardens. Chain-link fences separated one yard from the next, one house from the other. Feeling her heartbeat return to normal, Detective Talia stopped by a fence covered in what appeared to be a creeper vine. It's vibrant green leaves and tendrils soaking up the moon light that cast its soft glow hither and dither.

Leaning up against the fence, Detective Talia thought about what she had just seen. It was frightening… unbelievable… all at the same time. Talia didn't believe in Ghosts, goblins, or dragons. She had left those fairy tales in her past with a forgotten childhood. Yet… what had just happened? Something magical? Maybe an illusion? Maybe there was a scientific explanation for what had happened?

Talia put a stop to that train of thought right there. What had happened couldn't have been logical. But what was it then? Nothing came to mind as Talia rested against the fence. About to get up and move, Talia heard a rustling in the vines about her. Frozen in fear, the only thought Talia could think of was that they had found her. But how? Well if they were creatures unknown, then reason dictated that they would be able to do things a normal human being wouldn't be able to do. That single thought sent a chill down Talia's spine.

Remembering the gun in her holster, she slowly pulled it out. Turning the safety off, she slowly looked about her for the source of the rustling. Suddenly a cat shot out of the underbrush and ran across the street. Talia's finger nearly squeezed the trigger as she followed the cat as it ran. Letting out her breath, Talia put a hand to her fervently beating heart. It was only a Cat? What harm could come from a…

It was all around her. Twisting and tightening its squeeze knocking the gun out of her hand and causing her to trip and fall to the ground. Looking down at what was around her, Talia was shocked to see it was the vines from the fence she had been leaning up against. They slithered about her as if snakes with harmful intent.

Struggling with all her might, she tried to break free of the vines. But they were too strong as they continued to encircle her body in an ever tightening embrace. Wondering what was going on, Talia's mind made the connection to the girls at the same time she heard a female voice address her.

"Gotcha! Boy do you sure run fast!" Came the not so enthused voice of Cornelia. Talia looked up from where she was struggling to see the tall blond smirking over her. "I thought we had lost you for sure, but luckily I stumbled across you."

"Ugh! Let me go this instant! I'm a police officer and if you…" Talia began but was cut off.

"Hurt you? Wouldn't dream of it… but I don't know. We're going to have to do something with you." Cornelia cut in raising a delicate eyebrow.

"Yea, And I have no idea what either." Replied Hay Lin as she landed softly next to Cornelia. Then aside to Cornelia, "Will and Taranee are a couple blocks away. I saw them as I flew over here. Irma is still pretty far away though, having to search the completely opposite direction."

Cornelia nodded her head at Hay Lin, "Good. That means we won't have to wait for long, then we can go help Elyon after we figure out what to do with our snooping detective here."

"Elyon? You know where Elyon is?" Detective Talia asked in surprise drawing the attention of the two girls.

"Uh… yea. It's a long story." Hay Lin said in reply watching the Detective who had stopped squirming at the mention of Elyon.

"And unfortunately we might have to explain it," Will replied coming to a stop after running up and hearing what Hay Lin had said. She bent over, slightly out of breath from all the running she had done. "Where's Irma and Taranee?"

"Taranee is almost here. She was about as far away as you are. Speaking of which…" Hay Lin replied as Taranee showed up around a corner coming over to the trio that stood around the detective. "And Irma was 6 blocks over when I landed."

"Running... isn't… my… favorite…." Taranee panted, sitting on the walk next to Talia who had resumed struggling.

"Seriously," Will replied rolling her eyes. "I'm actually surprised I was able to run that well though. I mean... I just got out of the hospital."

"I don't know Will, maybe it was the heart helping you out." Hay Lin chimed in. She took a moment to look at Will before returning to curiously study the vines that continued to wrap themselves around the helpless detective. "Good job on Catching her Cornelia. I thought we never would of found her."

"Thanks. She just happened to stumble across these creeper vines. I couldn't resist the opportunity." Cornelia replied, basking in the glory of catching the witness to their powers. However, this was also the exact moment Talia decided to not go down quietly. Her screams echoed around the neighborhood shattering the peaceful evening air.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! I'M BEING ATT-" Was all she managed to get out before a vine covered her mouth, cutting her screams off abruptly. Almost instantly, Hay Lin had formed a solid wall of air around them to silence the screams too.

"That's enough from you!" Cornelia stated, an angry glint in her eye. However, the scream had made the Guardians realize they still were on earth in the middle of a neighborhood with families who were just settling down for evening activities. The last thing they needed was to be caught by a bunch of people as they "Kidnapped" the detective.

"Let's move her into an alley or something guys. We shouldn't just be out in the open like this. If someone sees us, that'll only add onto our problems." Will stated to the rest of the guardians, an uneasy hypersensitivity to noises and movements around them settling over her. Everyone silently agreed as they all bent down at once and picked up Detective Talia who was struggling to still get free. They moved her into a nearby alley around some more dumpsters that looked to be just like the one Talia had been trying to hide behind. It was at that exact moment that Irma bolted around a corner heading straight for the group huddled around Talia.

"No! No! Irma Wait!" Was all Hay Lin was able to franticly shout waving her arms before Irma smashed into the invisible wall of air surrounding the Guardians. Irma bounced back and landed on the hard concrete of the alley. Hay Lin instantly dropped their air shield as the group ran to surround there downed comrade.

"Irma, are you okay?" Taranee asked tentatively, kneeling down beside Irma, who in return let out a groan.

"Wha- what'd I hit?!" Was all Irma could gasp out, obviously winded from the ordeal.

"Oh, I'm so so so sorry Irma but Detective Talia started screaming so I made a solid wall of air to keep the sound from traveling far and I tried to warn you to stop but I guess you didn't hear me and I'm so so sorry Irma." Hay Lin let out in one long rapid sentence blinking her eyes and wringing her hands at Irma who sat up from her prone position.

"It's... okay", Irma replied, a sheepish grin coming across her face. "Just a little stunned is all."

Before the conversation could carry on though, there was a muffled "Mmm, Mm, Mmmmm!" from the bound and gagged detective, who was the reason for the chaos they had been through in the past 10 minutes or so.

"Hey, be quite over there. We're looking after Irma over here." Cornelia snapped at the detective. "We would be on our way to meridian right now if it weren't for you."

"Ah, I'm touched Corny! You actually care for me!" Irma replied, apparently having recovered her composure and humor. She then continued on in mock shock, "I think I need to go to the hospital guys. The stress of Cornelia actually caring for me is too much!"

Cornelia just turned around pointing a finger at Irma. "How many times have I told you not to call me corny! My name is Cornelia! And I only care because we _might_ need your help to rescue Elyon!"

"Alright, enough already. We have bigger fish to Fry. Primarily Detective Talia here. The sooner we deal with her, the sooner we can go help Elyon. Agreed?" Will asked, intervening before the argument between Cornelia and Irma continued on further. Cornelia acknowledged Will's word with a curt nod, while Irma said "Alright boss."

"Hey guys, I have an Idea..." Taranee said to them before they could return to the vine covered Detective who had managed to worm her way over to a dumpster, and was futility trying to hit it to make noise.

"Alright, what do you got?" Will asked, sense she herself didn't have any ideas. The day was taking a toll on her, and it was far from over too. They all huddled in a group as Taranee began to explain her plan.

"Alright, one thing I was thinking of, is you know all them superheroes that have contacts with the police? You know, kind of like Batman and Commissioner Gordon, or The detective in Charmed that helps them out from time to time..." Taranee began as looks of disbelief crossed the others face's.

"Are you suggesting we do something similar with Detective Talia?" Cornelia asked with ridicule in her voice. "And what makes you think she'll do it?"

"I... I don't know what will make her do it..." Taranee replied trying to explain her idea, which seemed to be quickly falling apart.

"But those are superheroes; we're not really superheroes are we?" Hay Lin asked next. "I mean... We don't exactly go around saving cats from trees and stopping thieves in the act..."

"But... we kind of are superheroes though... I mean think about it guys. We are helping the rebels, and we close all the open portals to keep Phobos from coming through and conquering earth!" Taranee cut in quickly, trying to sell her idea to the group.

"But how many superheroes do you see that look like fairies? And only one of us can fly..." Irma quipped, doing a twirl to show the girls the wings on her back.

"Fine, don't call us superheroes. But try to think about the benefits about having someone with the police who knows our story and will help us? I don't know about you, but there are some mysteries here on Earth that need solving, and Detective Talia could help us with them." Taranee replied, running a hand through the braids that covered her head while pointedly looking at Will. "She could help to keep our secrete... you know, just in case someone else un-intentionally finds out about it?"

"Well, I see your point there Taranee. I just don't think we can trust her though." Cornelia answered, looking over her shoulder at Talia, who had finally given up in trying to escape the vines, and was just staring at the group before her. A small smirk crossed the tall blond's face at seeing this.

Hay Lin fidgeted with her clothes before saying to the others, "Geee, I really don't know guys. What do you think Will?"

The girls attention shifted to their red headed leader who looked to be deep in thought. They hadn't noticed she hadn't said anything the whole time Taranee was pitching her idea to the group.

"Well... I can see both the advantages and disadvantages about having someone like Detective Talia in on our secret. The only thing I really have to say is, do we have a choice? I think we should convince her to help us. Otherwise, if you guys think you have better Ideas, you should pitch em now. Right now Taranee's is the only one that makes sense in our situation." Will replied with her two cents on the subject. "I'm as greatly disturbed as you guys about her knowing our secret, but there is no use crying over spilled milk. The only real problem I see is convincing her about who we are and what we do."

"Well, we could take her to Meridian. I know that was proof enough for me when we finally went there." Hay Lin replied as the idea spontaneously popped into her head.

"That would so totally freak her out. And there is nothing like seeing to believe." Taranee replied thinking about it. "We should just give her a little talk before hand though. It's going to be quite shocking for her world to be turned upside down and inside out like that."

"I don't mind. I never really liked her anyways," Cornelia replied to the group.

"Since when have you liked anyone else besides Caleb and Elyon Cornelia?" Irma replied rolling her eyes.

"Okay, stop it for a minute guys. We have to go help Elyon. You both are not making this easy right now." Will replied, feeling a big headache coming. "So we tell Talia the truth and bring her to Meridian if she doesn't believe us. Hopefully she will believe us, or we'll have to think of something else..."

With that they all turned as a group towards the detective who looked as worn out as they felt. They all crowded around her and semi-waited. The real question was where to begin. Will took the initiative and started from the beginning. They all took turns explaining everything to Talia; from the strange things they noticed happening around her, to the events the night of Halloween dance and the eventual Disappearance of Elyon. They explained how Yan Lin was a Guardian before them and who Phobos was. Eventually the story ended in the present with where they were now.

"Okay, I'm going to take the vine away from your mouth if you promise not to scream? We would much rather not anyone else found out about us. We are not ready for such an eventuality as that." Cornelia asked of Detective Talia, who merely nodded, since that was all she could do. The vine came away from her mouth and she took in a big breath, and then spit out pieces of plant.

"Bleh, I never want to taste creeping vine again." Talia replied before looking around at her captors.

"I wouldn't either. Then again I never liked Vegetables." Irma replied with a grin across her face.

"We know you probably have a lot of questions, but we need to make this quick. As you can see, we need to help Elyon. Whatever Phobos has planned, it isn't returning Elyon to the throne." Will stated to the Detective before her. "I know this is really hard to believe, but you have to. Lives are at stake here, and not just ours. The whole world is in danger and we have to..."

"You really expect me to believe a story like that. I've seen some strange things tonight, but you honestly think I would believe a story like that without some... proof?" Talia said, fear and anger coloring her voice. The stress was defiantly getting to her.

"Then how do you explain this?" Taranee replied igniting a ball of fire in her hand, which she then began to make it dance about them. It cast light about in the darkness that had overtaken Heatherfield. The other girls got what Taranee was trying to do. Talia just couldn't believe they had magical powers and do the things they explained they could do. So they had to show her that what they said was true.

"And what about the creeping vines that I used to tie you up? Huh?" Cornelia asked. "You don't think those just randomly crawled around you did you?"

"Well... No... but-" Talia began to say before Hay Lin gracefully took off and began to do loops in the air around them.

"Look, Talia. There is something we could really show you to prove this story is not a story. Guys, let's take her to Meridian. If there is any doubt in your mind, this should help erase it." Will said to the disbelieving detective. "Cornelia, Untie her. We'll let Talia walk this time. Besides, I don't want to carry her all the way to the portal."

"Alright. If you make one false move, or try to get away again, you'll be eating more vines for dinner, okay?" Cornelia warned bending over the disabled detective. Talia only gave a curt nod, before Cornelia waved her hand causing the vines to pull away from her. Talia slowly stood up rubbing circulation back into her extremities.

"Where's my gun?" Talia asked, uncertain if any of them had picked it up. It could be a serious thing if she lost her firearm. She would never hear the end of it back at the station. Talia the perfect detective loosing her firearm where some kid could just pick it up. On top of that, she was quite sure how she would explain to her superiors how she lost it in the first place.

"Oh, you mean this one?" Hay Lin asked holding a Glock 9mm by the butt upside down. "I happened to grab it when we moved you. Didn't want to leave it for some kid to find."

"Be careful with that. The safety is off..." Talia warned holding a hand out for it.

"I think we should hold onto that for awhile." Will replied as Irma examined the gun.

"Here, let me hold it. I know where the safety is on this model." Irma said to Hay Lin. "My dad showed me a few of the police issue guns and how to hold them."

"Yea... I don't like holding that thing." Hay Lin replied gladly handing the gun over to Irma, who promptly turned the safety on. Talia noted that she even held the gun properly, keeping her finger off of the trigger and pointing it anywhere but at a person. It made sense though, since Irma's father was an officer on the force.

"What, you guys don't trust me?" Talia asked of the group before her.

"No, not exactly. You haven't exactly proven you can be trustworthy." Taranee replied, reminding Talia that it was she who had followed them and discovered their secret.

"Well I was just doing my job. We knew something was up because you guys weren't telling the whole story. I just needed to find out what it was." Talia said reminding them who she was.

"Well the point is moot. Time is a wasting and we need to go help Elyon." Cornelia said reminding them that they should be on their way.

"Right, well Hay Lin, why don't you take point and look out for anyone we should avoid. Taranee can lead and Talia will..." Will started to say before Hay Lin interrupted.

"Take what?" She said, a look of confusion clearly showing on her face.

"Oh uh... take point. You know, scout ahead of us?" Will explained, a look of puzzlement coming across her face. "You know, I don't ever recall learning that term before."

Shrugging it off, she continued how to explain to everyone how they would work their way over to the portal. Talia was quite shocked actually because she recognized the military formation a squad would use if they were escorting a VIP. There was no indication of ANY military training in the Vandom family. So Talia was wondering where she could have picked up on something like that. Will even used proper military terms for some of the maneuvers she was describing to the group before her.

"Uh, Will? Where did you learn all this?" Taranee asked, stating the question that was on the group's mind.

"Honestly... I... I have no idea. It just seemed right though." Will replied shrugging. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Heart that taught me any of it."

"The what?" Talia asked, clearly confused at Will's terminology.

"Oh, this," Will replied grabbing the heart of Kandrakar that gracefully hung from her neck showing it to Detective Talia. "It's the Heart of Kandrakar, the thing that kind of enhances our abilities. Remember we explained that in our story, or were you not listening?"

"I uh... Just forgot. You have to realize this is all hard to believe for me. It's also a lot to take in." Talia replied to Will, who just shrugged.

"Just give us a few more minutes and you'll start to believe. For now, let's just focus on getting to the portal." Will replied gesturing for the group to start out.

Everyone got in their places and started moving towards the portal that awaited them. Everything worked out great, and they only had to make one detour because of a couple out for an evening stroll. Hay Lin's scouting got them to the portal within about 20 minutes. Talia had really run far from where they had been, and on top of that they had to be cautious as they traveled so they wouldn't be discovered.

The street lamps provided just enough light to see, while allowing them ample cover in the shadows. The city provided a seemingly peaceful stroll in the night, punctuated by night sounds that accompanied any evening in Heatherfield. While Heatherfield was a small town, it was still large enough for a nightlife to exist. Some of the more ugly elements of Heatherfield made their appearance at night. However, the girls were lucky enough none of these elements chose to show themselves at all during their walk back to the portal.

"Alright, Hay Lin, Taranee, go ahead and go through. We'll send Talia next and Cornelia, Irma, and I will follow after words." Will said to the group who all nodded in agreement. All except Talia who was shaking her head.

"We're not going into that are we? I-I mean I don't think it's a good Idea? Is it safe?" Talia asked clearly showing her fear of the blue portal before them.

"And that's why Hay Lin and Taranee are going first, to show you it won't hurt you. Now let's please get on with this." Cornelia said plainly irritated. And with that, first Taranee and then Hay Lin stepped through the portal disappearing from view.

"It's your turn Detective Talia." Will said, guiding the uncertain detective towards the swirling blue anomaly before them. "We know what we're doing, more or less."

"Wh-what do you m-mean more or leeeeeessssssssssssssssss!" Talia stuttered just as Will gave her a quick shove into the portal. The world went bright as Talia stumbled forward, causing her to close her eyes. She tripped and hit the ground. The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that it wasn't cement or pavement she had hit. It was dirt.

Quickly, Talia looked around her to find that the alley had disappeared, replaced by a jungle like area with flora and fauna she had never seen before. Standing before her were Taranee and Hay Lin who were grinning at Talia, before walking over to help her up.

"Surprise!" Hay Lin said to the stunned detective who was at a loss for words.

"Where are we?!" Talia said nearly screaming, panic mode re-engaging. "This is not real!"

"Yes, this is all a figment of your imagination. The police department thought it would be a good joke to play on you." Irma joked with her usual humor from behind Talia who had spun around to see who it was. With Irma was Will and Cornelia who had come through the portal right after Talia.

"Welcome to Meridian Detective Talia!" Will said raising her arms to indicate the world about them. "And, it's about as real as it gets."

Talia continue to look about her, captivated by the scene before her. And if to help cement it in, the swirling portal from where they had emerged glowed brightly behind the three girls. The lighting all around them was different too. No longer was it the cool dark night the alley had been covered in. No, now it was much brighter, a muted light though as Talia looked up at the gray cloud cover that seemed to bring a certain misery to the whole situation.

No, this wasn't a dream or a hallucination. As Will said, this is as real as it gets. Her wandering mind was brought to full attention when she heard rustling in the plants to her left. All the girls tensed up looking towards the sound too, and from the looks on their face they looked like they were ready to fight a battle.

"What is it?" Talia whispered to Hay Lin who still was in front of her. Hay Lin only shook her head implying that Talia should be silent. Talia reached for the gun that was normally holstered at her side, realizing that Irma still held it. The sudden feeling of not having the familiar grip of the gun in her hand left Talia feeling very naked.

The rustling stopped as a greenish colored figure appeared, and at the almost exact time a horrid smell hit her.

"Blunk find Portal! Blunk find Girls!" The small ugly _monster_ exclaimed to the girls who all noticeably relaxed around Talia, who was trying not to gag from the smell.

"Gah, Blunk! You know better then to sneak up on us like that. One of these days we're not going to realize it's you and totally attack you." Will said to the character who seemed to be Blunk.

"Blunk sorry. But girls must hurry! The attack is about to start!" Blunk replied to Will, and then finally noticing Talia. "Oooo! New girl!"

"Uh, yea. Blunk, this is our friend... Detective Talia." Taranee replied indicating Talia who still was having trouble trying to breathe with the smell.

"Uh... Hi." Was all Talia could say, not exactly sure what to say. However before Blunk could reply, Cornelia cut in clearly anxious.

"Can we get this over with? The attack is about to start and we _need_ to be there!" The nervousness present within the assertive blond clearly colored her voice.

"Right... Okay Talia. I think you should head back to Earth. We need to help Elyon right now. Irma give her back her gun." Will said to the Detective who was starting to get used to her surroundings. Irma walked over and held out the gun to Talia who took it and checked the safety nervously.

"After you are back through the portal I'm going to close it Talia. That way no one from meridian can get through to earth, and no one from earth can get through to Meridian." Will said gesturing to the portal, holding out the heart of Kandrakar at ready.

"But... if you close the portal how will you get back?" Talia asked, curiosity overpowering the feelings of running through the portal and all the way back to her house.

"I can make another one. We'll be fine Talia... We'll see you soon enough." Will said to Talia who looked like she quite didn't believe her. However, the need to return to a reality that was normal overpowered any other doubts Talia had and she stepped up to the portal.

"Oh, before you go. Can you do us all a favor?" Taranee asked of the Detective, who stopped and turned around.

"Uh... maybe. What is it?" Talia asked tentatively, unsure if she should just step through the portal anyways and leave this all behind.

"Can you keep this all a secret. We aren't ready for our parents to know. Let alone the world." Taranee stated to the Detective who stood there for a moment, and then nodded. Talia could see the fear in all the girls eyes. Apparently they saved the world every day... but in the end they were still just kids.

"I can do that. I don't think anyone would believe me anyways," She replied a sheepish smile covering her face. "Goodbye I guess."

All the girls waved at Talia as she stepped through the portal back to earth. Immediately she noticed the cold and the dark alley before her. Turning around, she watched as the portal shrunk and disappeared before her eyes. Blinking, she tried to imagine it there again, acting as a gateway to a different world. Turning, she began the long cold walk back to her car... and possibly a bar. This was all still a lot to take in.

Back in Meridian, the girls gestured for Blunk to lead the way. It was time to challenge Phobos and save Elyon... if they could.

Ω

_"They found her body resting by the river..."_ The radio blared, a popular new tune from Tickle Me Pink. The song always depressed Detective Ethan Riley, as it reminded him of a case he once worked a few years back. _"Madeline! Madeline! You will be remembered! Made-"_

The radio was cutoff as Ethan turned the sedan's engine off. He was parked just outside the Petersburg residence. Yellow police tape could be seen tapped to the door. Around the side where the Family dinning room window was, more police tape covered the shattered glass pane where the sniper bullet had nearly killed Jonathan. CSI had already been by and documented everything, so the Petersburg family was free to move back into the residence. However, for security reasons, they had not yet.

That was all fine for Ethan though as he stepped out of the Sedan. If any of Senator Petersburg's story was true, which he was starting to believe, he would need physical proof before he could go to the police chief, and maybe even the FBI. Jonathan had given instructions on where to find the evidence to support his story. Some of it was in virtual documents on a hidden ghost drive on his home network. The rest of it was physical documents stashed away in a hidden safe.

Ethan knew that time was limited if Jonathan's story was true, because the Majestic 12 had eyes everywhere and probably knew that the Senator wasn't dead. It also meant that he himself was in danger since he now knew about the secretive group. Tearing down the police tape, Ethan opened up the door to the Petersburg residence and stepped in.

Three blocks away, a used 4 door Pontiac sat idling. Blue paint was peeling off of the doors and rust spots could be seen in various places. The interior was a red color and there were plenty of holes in the seats. A man inside with wire rimmed glasses and a pock marked face watched Detective Ethan make his way over to the Petersburg residence and step in.

Jonas had been tailing the detective for quite some time, looking for the right opportunity to strike. Now seemed to be the best time as any, since he would be able to also recover the evidence linking Senator Petersburg to the rest of Majestic 12, as well as kill Ethan. It would be a double bonus for him in light of his recent failures with the Vandoms. The Detective had been in the presence of his partner all day, up until they split up at the hospital. Then Ethan left with out Talia and drove through town until he came to here.

The Detective must not have been looking for a tail or was really good at hiding that he knew someone was following him, because it was no problem for Jonas to follow him. Stepping out of the car, he looked around to make sure no one was looking. He then reached into the glove compartment and took out a silenced 9mm Beretta. Stuffing it into his black trench coat, he then discreetly made his way over to the Petersburg residence.

Ω

It was all amazing! Invoices! Receipts! Meeting Agendas! Research papers! All of it was here, and there was much more. Employee lists, meeting locations, and assassination orders were just the tip of the iceberg, sorted and stored in various file folders in the safe. It was a prosecutor's wet dream and a criminal's worst nightmare. Links to some very well known names were indicated in many of the documents, including CEO's, Politicians, and even Nobel Prize winning scientists!

Ethan was amazed at the mountain of evidence that lay before him. Just the receipts alone could prove half a dozen conspiracies's and solve many murders. He hadn't even gotten to the ghost drive yet with all the virtual evidence. There was no way the Senator was lying. There was too much information here for it to be a fabrication of a crazed lunatic. No, this was much more.

As Detective Ethan kept reading through all the evidence collected, the scope and gravity of the situation became deadly clear. Whoever Majestic 12 was, they were big… no not big… huge. They made the CIA and MI6 look like a big joke. But it also worried him… a lot. Senator Petersburg must have been working on coming clean because this was a large paper trail to just leave behind. He also must have been planning it for a long time, because there were documents dating back nearly 10 years, a good 3-4 years before he even became a senator.

The picture was crystal clear and laying before Ethan in an entirely new light. This… this group… this whole thing was way out of his league and he did not like it. He felt naked now, knowing the truth of what was really going on.

Sifting through the papers, he found documents pertaining to the present… to Project Innocent Assassins. The names of several hundred children were listed, including Wilhelmina Vandom. There was also a detailed file on Will including missions run and everything except… Except what was that creaking noise?

Looking up from the file he was reading, Ethan listened hard. There it was again, the creaking of loose floorboards. Ethan had grown up in a house that creaked and moaned throughout the day and night. But this was different, as if someone was trying to sneak up on him. That put Ethan on high alert because nobody should be creeping through the house. If it was a family member, they would have no need to creep.

Just as Ethan was bout to get up from the Queen sized bed he had been sitting on in the Senator's bedroom, the door burst inward with tremendous force. There standing in the door way was a man with wiry glasses, a pockmarked face, and greasy hair. He wore a black trench coat and his gloved hands held a silenced pistol pointed directly at Ethan.

Jonas had done his best to hide his movements throughout the house, but the damned floor boards were surely giving him away. However, he was fairly certain the detective was in the master bedroom as the hall light leading to it was on. He could see the light in the room was on through the slightly ajar door. Kicking the door open and bringing his gun to bear, Jonas' guess was confirmed as the startled detective looked at the man pointing the gun at him. _Time to die Detective Ethan..._

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the intruder squeezed the trigger and the gun made a small hiccup sound accompanied with a flash. As Ethan's assailant squeezed the trigger again, the feeling of pain in his chest registered with his brain and brought reality up to full speed again. Rolling across the bed to find himself on the other side and taking cover from his attacker, Ethan reached for the gun holstered in the shoulder holster he put on every morning before coming to work.

A few more shots landed with a _thwack!_ in the dry wall across from Ethan. Without even thinking Ethan unsnapped the Glock 9mm and aimed it over the bed in the general direction of his assailant and pulled the trigger. His un-silenced Glock clapped loudly in comparison to the silenced 9mm, but it was a welcome sound. There was a startled yelp from his attacker, so maybe he had been lucky.

Crawling to the end of the bed and then peeking out to look at the door, Ethan found his attacker wasn't there. Unfortunately for his attacker, the hall light gave away his position behind the wall; a small shadow visible in the door way. Ethan knew these thin walls would not protect the man, so taking aim at the crème colored wall where the man should have been, Ethan fired his gun several times.

He knew he was successful as there was a startled gasp and a thump as his assailant's body hit the floor. Getting up and cautiously approaching the door, Ethan peered out to find the man who had been shooting him lying in a pool of his own blood. Kicking the silenced 9mm aside, Ethan checked his pulse and found none.

Searching the dead man's body, Ethan found nothing to give him a clue to his assailant's identity. Whoever he was, and whoever he worked for would remain a mystery. However, Ethan had a pretty good idea who the man worked for; Majestic 12. Ethan realized the would-be assassin probably had either tailed him to the Petersburg residence or had been waiting for him there.

With the sudden burst of adrenaline gone, Ethan began to really feel the pain in his chest. Fingering the blackened holes in his button up shirt, Ethan could feel the Kevlar vest underneath. Ripping his shirt open, he pulled the metal plate out of the vest that covered his heart. There in the near center were two identical dents, a testament to the man's aim. If Ethan had not been wearing his vest, he would have died after those first two shots.

One good thing had come out of his father's death, and it was the wearing of Kevlar vests. His father had been old fashioned and chose not to wear a Kevlar vest. It was heavy and could get hot sometimes. But not wearing it had been the reason he had died. In truth, if he had been wearing a vest the day of that fateful shootout with the bank robbers, Joseph Riley might still be walking around, showing his son how to handle the ropes.

In truth, Ethan had been very lucky. If his assailant had realized he was wearing the Kevlar vest, his aim would have been about a foot higher pointing at Ethan's head. One man's miscalculations were another man's triumph.

With the pain in his chest a blinding reminder of the danger he was in, Ethan returned to the room and gathered up the documents that had been scattered about in his mad scramble for cover. Then an idea popped up in his head as he was picking up the various personal files. Sifting through the various records, he came across the face of the man who had confronted him earlier.

Eagerly glancing through the file, Ethan was brought to disappointment as only a codename "Jonas" was listed. The rest of the file had unknowns written under age, place of birth, and history. Whoever he was, he wasn't known to the Majestic 12 either. Sighing, he gathered the rest of the documents up and moved onto the Senator's office.

Logging into the computer using the username and password he had been given by Jonathan, Ethan discovered the hidden drive was an external connected to the PC via a USB cable. Disconnecting the drive, Ethan was about to leave the office when his cell phone rang. It was Detective Talia. Looking at his watch, he knew that it had gotten late in the evening and his partner was probably trying to check up on him.

That was bad though, very bad. Majestic 12 probably had his line tapped, and they would soon know about the failure of their hitman on him. So he ignored the call and turned his cell off. Perhaps paranoia was getting to him, but Ethan felt it was better safe then sorry. Besides, what was that one saying? "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone following me."

Speaking of which, Ethan pondered if he should call the shoot out in to dispatch. But again, paranoia whispered thoughts of more danger to come if he didn't. So, he stepped over the body of "Jonas" avoiding the blood that was starting to congeal, and left the house. He needed time to think and read. He needed a place that was safe and secure from all these conspiracies and plots of murder. As he started the engine of the blue sedan, a perfect place popped into his head; a place from his past.

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**A/N: Tada! It's finished! No! Not the story you silly! The chapter! I'm really pleased with the way the ending showdown between Ethan and the mysterious hitman turned out. It more then makes up for the guardian's scene which I think could use a little more work. But it's fine the way it is right now. So, hopefully I'll have a new chapter out soon!**

**Just an FYI to all those of you who don't like to read long profiles, I usually update my Work in Progress section with information about new chapters and various things each time I post a chapter. If you don't feel like scrolling through my entire profile to see what I've changed, I do have a change log at the very bottom that lists where my changes are for that time around.**

**Anyways! Enough about me. Be sure to leave reviews! They are much appreciated!**


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